Strings
by Mag68
Summary: **** Rating changed for safety**** Takes place in season three. Luke is with Nicole, and Lorelai is with Alex. Or are they? JavaJunkie - trust me. Starts in Those Are Stings, Pinnocchio and flashes back.
1. Dangling By a Thread

**A/N: Here is the prologue to a new story that I have been tossing around. I hope that you will like it!**

**Dangling By a Thread**

_**The day of Rory's graduation from Chilton**_

Luke ran up the porch steps, and began to pound on her door. When he got no response, he tried the handle, but for once, it was locked. For a moment, he considered which of the dozens of ways he knew of to break into her house he should use, but his thoughts were interrupted by Babette calling to him, "I think they're still at the thing, Doll." Luke turned in her direction, but said nothing, just raising his hand in acknowledgement. Babette smiled and waved, turning back toward her door, and then stopping as she called back to him, "Was it a nice ceremony?"

"Yeah," he called back in a slightly hoarse voice. "Very nice."

"Good, well, we'll see you at the party later," Babette said as she waved again and then closed the door behind her.

Mindless of the fact that he was still in his dress clothes Luke sank down onto the top step and buried his face in his hands. He could see her perfectly; her red dress swirling around her legs as she closed the diner door, her dark hair brushing her shoulders, her swell of her breasts as she tried to catch her breath long enough to say what she wanted to say.

_Don't get engaged._

He knew it was just a dream. He knew that she didn't actually say that, but he also knew that the dream had happened for a reason. That reason had been there bubbling under the surface for months now. He had tried to ignore it. He had tried to shove it down, lock it away and throw away the key, but once again, like a thousand times before, it was this close. This close to being all or nothing. This close to going for broke. This close to knowing once and for all if it was meant to be.

He heard the crunch of gravel under tires and looked up as the Jeep pulled to a stop in its usual spot. Lorelai opened the driver's door and smiled when she saw the hunched figure on her porch. "Hey, if we knew you were coming we'd have baked a cake," she called to him.

"Are you trying to poison him?" Rory asked as she closed the passenger door.

"Well, I would have had Sookie do the actual baking," Lorelai said as they crossed the yard. She looked at Luke with a concerned frown, taking in his disheveled clothes and the short hair that stuck up in little tufts where his hands had raked trough it. "Are you okay?" she asked as they reached the steps.

Luke stared at her for a moment and then said in a voice rough with urgency, "I need to talk to you."

Rory glanced uneasily between her mother and Luke and then stepped up onto the bottom step. "I'll just go get changed and ready for the party," she said in a nervous tone.

Luke stood up as she passed, brushing his sweaty palms over his suit pants as he cleared his throat and said, "You did great today, Rory."

Rory smiled and gave his arm and awkward pat as she passed. "Thanks, Luke. And thanks again for coming," she said as she hurried for the door. She tried the handle, and blinked in surprise when she found it locked.

Rory turned back to Lorelai with a questioning stare, but her mother simply shrugged and said, "Sometimes the mood strikes me," and tossed her keys to her.

Lorelai waited until Rory had closed the door behind her before she looked up at Luke and said, "What's going on?"

Luke stepped down one step and said, "You tell me."

Lorelai reared back a little at his terse tone and asked, "Uh, Rory graduated today? We're getting ready to leave for Europe?" She paused for a beat before adding, "Um, you're going to be boarding the Love Boat?" When he said nothing, but crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her intently, Lorelai began to fidget under his scrutiny. "Hey, be sure that you tell Isaac, and Julie and Doc 'hi' for me and tell them I miss seeing them every week. Charo does too, because she's had a whole boatload of nothin' to do since that show when off the air," she babbled.

"Lorelai," he said impatiently.

"What? You're the one who came by to play guessing games," she said defensively as she stepped onto the bottom step, avoiding his eyes.

"You've been playing guessing games with me for months now. Hell, years," he said, getting angry. "I think it's my turn," he said snidely.

"I don't know why you're mad at me," she said, looking up at him with a confused shake of her head.

"Don't you?" Luke asked as he stepped down another step, his eyes fixed on her. When she looked away, he said in a low voice, "You know damn well what I meant."

"What you meant about what?" Lorelai asked plaintively.

"Everything," he answered succinctly.

"Everything what?" Lorelai asked, her impatience rising to meet his.

"When I asked you about the cruise, and Nicole, and committing," he said gesturing with his hand.

"What about it," she answered with a tinge of anger. "Do you need my permission?"

"I don't know, do I?" he asked bluntly. "Considering everything, Lorelai?"

"Everything what?" she cried out in frustration.

"You know what I meant!" he shouted, staring down at her. "Everything that has been going on, or not going on, or almost going on between us these last few months," he said angrily. "I'm not imagining it. It's not just all in my head, so don't try to Gaslight me," he warned as he pointed a finger at her. When Lorelai stared up at him with her mouth agape, but no sound coming from it, Luke shook his head and said firmly, "I have to know."

"Know what?" she whispered in a bewildered tone.

"I need you to tell me once and for all, considering everything," he said slowly. Luke took a deep breath, looking her straight in the eye as he asked, "Yes or no? Do you want me to go on this cruise with Nicole?"


	2. Hook, Line and Sinker

**Hook, Line and Sinker**

_**Takes place during Lorelai Out of Water**_

He had to be a masochist. That was the only explanation for it. Why else would he be wading in an icy Connecticut stream at six in the morning? It certainly wasn't because of an overwhelming desire to commune with nature. Luke reeled in, feeling no pleasure at the tug at the end of his line. He caught the shimmering trout in his hand and carefully removed the hook before dropping it into the mesh basket that he had tethered to a branch that hung out over the water. Methodically, he attached another ball of bright green Power Bait to his hook and cast out into the stream again. He tightened his line and let his mind drift as his line dragged. She thought she could learn to fish from a book. She thought that he wouldn't know that she wanted to learn to fish for a guy. It had to be a guy. Some guy who obviously didn't know Lorelai Gilmore very well. Yet. Obviously someone she wanted to get to know well enough that she would agree to get up at the crack of dawn and go fishing, of all things. And he was the sucker that was gonna help her.

He may be a masochist, but he wasn't an idiot. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. But what was this masochistic idiot doing instead of staying warm in his bed on his morning off? He was standing knee deep in freezing water, catching fish to put in a baby pool so that he could teach the girl he wanted to fish for another guy. _Pathetic, that's what it is,_ he thought as he shook his head at himself. He reeled in his line and recast, trying to focus on what he was doing rather than what he was feeling. _Stupid,_ he thought with a snort. _He was feeling pretty pathetic and really stupid right now. _

He had been struck with the stupid stick the first time she blew into his diner begging for coffee. He just got stupider the more he got to know her. Got to know what a strong, intelligent, determined and loving woman she was under that brilliant exterior. Once he got to see her with Rory and their friends and neighbors, and got to know her as a friend. Over the years, there had been more than a few times when he had hoped for something more. More than a few instances when he saw that light in her bright blue eyes that told him that maybe she would consider him. But more than anything, there were times when he knew that it wasn't right, that no matter how much he wanted it, there was something in Lorelai that held her back, kept him at arm's length, kept them friends but definitely not lovers. And he had been stupid enough to heed that. He had been the idiot who stood behind the counter and watched the town fill to overflowing with bright yellow daisies. He was the dumbass parked on the bench with a bevy of tiny ballerinas as she danced cheek to cheek with her fiancée. He was the moron who plated a consolation donut for her and listened to her cry when the jerk who had abandoned her and Rory so long ago did the exact same thing all over again.

Of course, things had changed in the past couple of years. Just last year, he had been flying high. Her engagement to Max was a thing of the past, and their friendship had grown closer, deeper, and more essential to their mutual happiness. They came to rely on each other. But even though she said that they were friends, Lorelai never managed to mention the men in her life to him. Luke didn't know if that was because she sensed that he wouldn't want to hear it, or if she felt some other reason to hide it. Of course, he heard it all. First there was the teacher, and then the teacher was gone. Then the teacher was back, and they were engaged. Then they weren't. Then she ended up dating Doogie Howser. That set him off a bit, but it turned out to be just a one time thing. And then there was Christopher. Luke didn't know if Lorelai thought that her on again off again flings with the father of her child were a state secret, but he was pretty sure she'd be shocked by how much information made its way back to him. _But they were friends, right?_ he thought with a smirk as he reeled in, checked his bait and recast. _Friends would tell friends these things. Not the gory details, maybe, but at least that there was someone in their life._ But Lorelai never did. Luke could only take that to mean that she didn't consider him only her friend or it could simply mean that they weren't the good friends that he had thought they were.

And then, just as things were going so well, just as they were getting closer, there was the fight. There's nothing quite like having the girl you secretly love scream 'Go to hell!' at you to put a bit of a damper on any hopes you may have had. Even after they had made up, it had taken a long time for them to get back onto a comfortable footing with each other. After that, where they were now as friends was nowhere as close as they had been just a year ago. There was a caution there. An awareness of how much they had hurt each other, and the ease of doing so. There were words unspoken, mainly concerning Rory and Jess' relationship, which was the cause of the fight to begin with, and a wound too raw, too sensitive for them to touch. Of course, Jess was dating Rory now, and that added a new wrinkle. As much as he loathed the little punk's snarky commentary, Luke has a grudging admiration for his nephew. He came to town, he saw Rory, he decided that he wanted her, and he set about to get the girl. While he may not agree with the methods Jess had used to get the job done, he couldn't argue with his success. And Lorelai, well she didn't approve of the match. As much as Luke liked to tell himself that it was because of Jess' crappy attitude and smart mouth, there was a little part of him that thought maybe it might be a little bit in part because Lorelai didn't think that the Danes/Mariano men were quite good enough for a Gilmore girl.

He felt the telltale pull on his line and reeled in apathetically, feeling and odd sympathy for the struggling fish as he unhooked it and added it to the basket. "Sorry," he muttered to the fish before he reached for another ball of bait and forced it onto the hook with fingers stiff with cold. _When was the last time you went out on a date? A year, two years ago?_ Jess' question reverberated in his head. His nephew's words hit a little too close to home. Jess was right. Driving Joanna Cooper home didn't count. Even if she had made it clear that she was open to an offer. Even she had reinforced that belief with a kiss on the cheek that hit a little closer to his mouth and lasted a little longer than mere friendliness dictated. But, the fact of the matter was, he wasn't interested in Joanna. He hadn't been interested in anyone other than Lorelai for longer than he cared to admit. And yet, here it was slapping him the face again. Luke wondered idly how many punches he'd have to take before he went down for the count.

He thought about that woman who had come into the diner the day before. The lawyer. Taylor's lawyer. She was attractive, in that quietly understated kind of way. _Classy_, he thought with a small nod. Pretty, but not the kind of pretty that drew a man in, enveloped him completely and drew the air from his lungs. Lorelai had cornered the market on that. As Luke felt another tug, he reeled in, his mind a million miles away. _I'm tired of taking the hits. I'm tired of waiting, hoping. I'm tired of cleaning up the messes that other guys leave behind. I want more. I want to be able to breathe again,_ he thought as he automatically removed the hook from the trout's gaping mouth. He dropped it into the mesh basket and watched as its gills expanded, filling its lungs with air. "Breathe," Luke murmured softly.

XXXX

He unloaded the inflatable pool and tossed it into the front yard. Without knocking on the door, Luke walked around to the side of the porch, opened the door to the crawl space and pulled out the garden hose that he had coiled up and stored there just months before. He hooked it to the spigot and dragged the hose through the snow, dropping the end of it into the bright blue pool. While it was filling, he carried a 5 gallon bucket holding the fish he had caught earlier over to the pond. He then unloaded two folding camp chairs and set them up next to the makeshift fishing hole. As Luke reached through the open window and honked the horn before taking two poles and two tackle boxes from the bed of the truck and calling, "Let's go!" he was fueled by something else. It was a mixture of a little anger, more than a little hurt, and a very perverse need to make her fess up to him. To make her tell him face to face, once and for all, that there was someone else in the picture.

Lorelai emerged from the house wearing every possible form of fishing gear known to man and struck a pose for him on the porch. Looking at her, he had to laugh, and then told her that she looked ridiculous. In typical Lorelai fashion, she insisted that she looked adorable and proceeded to rhapsodize about the joys of a sport that allowed one to buy a new outfit. When she said she was ready to go, Luke took more than a little pleasure in pricking her ego by telling her that she wasn't ready for the big leagues yet, and pointed out the baby pool he had set up. Her pout was worth the price of admission, both for its allure and for the secret victory of having taken Lorelai Gilmore down a peg. He dumped the trout he had caught earlier into the makeshift pond and then rolled his eyes as she proceeded to name each one of the fish. Not wanting to be sucked in by her charm, Luke kept it all business, explaining the rod and reel to her and giving precise instruction on how to cast. As she tried it herself, he tried to force himself not to be impressed by her quick mind and her ability to grasp the strange instructions. After one minor misfire, she managed to get the cork covered hook into the pond. Lorelai was giddy with victory, prodding him to chare in her excitement, but he resisted. Instead, he picked up the second rod and reel and cast easily into the pond. She babbled for a moment marveling at the amount of equipment that fishing required, and he answered tersely that most people don't provide their own lake.

Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "So, tell me why you're doing this."

Lorelai frowned and answered, "Because you told me to."

Luke shook his head and said, "I mean, tell me why you're learning to fish."

Lorelai shifted uncomfortably and said vaguely, "Oh. I told you, some of my friends are going."

Luke pounced. "What friends? Sookie?" he asked quickly.

"What?" Lorelai asked, bewildered by the speed with which he had replied.

"Is Sookie going fishing?" he pressed, unwilling to let up until she caved.

"Well…" she hedged nervously.

Moving in for the kill, Luke pulled out the big guns. "Or Rory. Did Rory suddenly get the overwhelming urge to dig for worms and stand in the middle of a lake at five a.m.?" he asked snidely.

"Yes?" Lorelai answered hopefully, glancing up to see if he was buying what she was trying to sell. When she saw that he didn't buy it, she sighed and said, "Okay, fine, I met this guy."

"Ah," Luke answered with a nod, noting that the twisted pain in his gut didn't feel quite as good as he thought it would. _Happy now, Mr. Masochist?_ he admonished himself as he realized that this was it. This was the time to give it up. It was finally time to let it go and realize that he had no chance with her.

"And, uh, he's kind of an outdoorsy guy," she explained.

"Oh, just your type," he managed to say in a tone that seemed light and joking, even though his heart was in his throat.

Lorelai had the grace to laugh at herself and said, "No, not exactly, but he's nice and, uh, he was talking about fishing, and I think I said something like, 'Oh, hey, that sounds great', and so he invited me and here I am."

"I got it," he said shortly.

Lorelai winced a little and said softly, "Sorry I didn't tell you."

Luke finally turned to look at her and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lorelai shrugged and answered, "I don't know. I just felt stupid getting rooked into the thing in the first place." She paused and glanced over at him uneasily as she said, "And then, plus, you don't wanna hear about my personal life," in a self deprecating tone.

Luke nodded, trying to figure out how to proceed now that the boundaries have been so clearly drawn for him. He cleared his throat slightly and asked, "So this'll be your first date or…"

"Second," Lorelai quickly corrected, hoping to move past this phase of the conversation as swiftly as possible.

"Second date," Luke murmured as he absorbed the information. As she babbled on about the coffee tasting place the mystery fishing guy had taken her to, he realized that this was it. This was all that they would ever be. Friends. Only friends. Friends who don't tell each other about their personal lives. He made the correct noises, asked the right questions, and somehow managed to offer the use of his tackle for her date with another man. _Sucker_, the little voice inside of his head taunted. _No, we're friends_, he told the voice. _This is what friends do when they are just friends, only friends._

His thoughts were interrupted when Lorelai asked, "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"Can you do me one more favor?" she asked cautiously.

Le shrugged and said, "Sure."

Lorelai nodded to the baby pool and said, "Put a cork on your hook."

Luke nodded as he set his pole down and said again, "Sure."

XXXX

Luke was delivering an order to a table near the window when he spotted Taylor standing on the sidewalk speaking to the attorney that had been in the diner a couple of days ago. He paused and watched them for a moment, Jess' taunting words floating through his head and mingling with the sound of Lorelai's voice saying, 'I met this guy.' Before he could talk himself out of it, he moved to the door, calling to Jess to refill the customer's coffee mug and ignoring his nephew's questions as he hurried down the steps of the diner. Luke called out to her, and when she stopped, he realized that he had absolutely no idea what to say to her. He began to babble nervously about crosswalks and disbarment, and then dug himself a little deeper with some drivel about the price of a cup of coffee. When he finally got a grip on himself, he prefaced his rambling dinner invitation with an, 'Oh what the hell' and was stunned when the attractive redhead smiled and accepted. He backed away slowly, muttering about business cards and crosswalks again as he promised to call to make that dinner thing happen.

Luke went on about his day feeling a little lighter. By the time Sunday evening came, he had almost convinced himself that it was all for the best. It was done. He was going to move on. He and Lorelai would remain friends, just friends, and that was good. She was a good friend to have, and he knew that he should be happy with that. By the time the dinner rush had cleared, he was actually feeling pretty smug. He planned to call Nicole Leahy first thing Monday morning and set things in motion, and hopefully he could have it all. _I can have someone in my life, it doesn't have to be Lorelai as long as Lorelai is still in my life,_ he reasoned. _Friends. Everybody has friends. Dating a woman and having a woman for a friend didn't have to be mutually exclusive, people do it all the time. He could have them both, _h_e_ told himself.

The bells jingled as he was shutting down the kitchen, and he called, "Sorry, we're closed."

"The coffee pot is still on," Lorelai called back to him.

Luke walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, and said, "That doesn't mean it's for you to have."

Lorelai laughed and asked, "Please, who else would it be for?"

Luke bristled a little at her dismissive tone and asked sarcastically, "How'd the fishing go?"

"Ugh, I am never getting up that early again, but it was okay. Good," she said with a nod, but clearly unwilling to share the details of her date with him. She placed a Doose's bag on the counter and said, "Please, Luke. We were out at home, so I ran to the market, but I could really use a cup of coffee right now," she said in a pleading tone. She smiled at him flirtatiously and said, "You know it's my life's blood, I can't survive another moment without your fabulous coffee."

Luke turned away from that smile that always drew him in and said in a snarky tone, "Sorry, but I only offer one flavor here."

"The best flavor in the world," she countered as he reached for the pot. "There's nothing I love more than your coffee, except maybe Rory, and they run a close first and second," she said with a nod.

Luke placed a to-go cup in front of her and watched as she took that first sip. Lorelai cradled the cup in both hands, moaning as the hot liquid coursed down her throat and then said, "That's a really good cup of coffee," in a tone strikingly similar to the one Nicole had used days before.

Luke nodded and said only, "I have to close up."

Lorelai smiled as she took the grocery bag from the counter and turned toward the door. "Thanks, Luke. I need to get home to Jayne."

He couldn't resist, he fell for it every time. "Jayne?" he asked in a bewildered voice.

"Jayne Mansfield," she called over her shoulder. Lorelai opened the door and turned back to him with a brilliant smile as she said proudly, "Caught one. She's in our bathtub right now."

Luke just shook his head and muttered, "Aw geez," as comprehension set in.

Lorelai toasted him with her to-go cup and said, "I owe it all to you, my friend. Thanks, Luke."

And then she was gone, hurrying down the steps, home to Rory. And Jayne Mansfield, the fish he taught her to catch with another man. As Luke stood at the end of the counter, he draped his hand over the cash register, rubbing his thumb over his forefinger as he watched her until she disappeared. Finally, he turned back to the coffee maker and flipped the switches to turn the machine off. With a satisfied smirk, he realized that he had forgotten to mention his up coming date to Lorelai. _Well, she doesn't want to know about my personal life,_ he told himself as he walked to the door, flipped the sign and turned the lock with a decisive flick of his wrist.


	3. Lasso the Moon

**A/N: I just wanted to interject here, if I may, to remind everyone that I mentioned in the story summary that this story would start in **_**Those are Strings, Pinnocchio**_**, and flash back to points in season 3. There seems to be some confusion, so I want to make it perfectly clear that we will end up back in **_**Those are Strings, Pinnocchio**_** when this is through. This is not a middle fic. There will be no L & L engagement, wedding or babies forthcoming within the confines of this story. Are we all on the same page now? Cool, let's go on…**

**Lasso the Moon**

_It had been a weird night. A weird few days, actually, _Lorelai corrected herself as she sped past the Welcome to Stars Hollow sign and began to slow. It all started when she had opened the box of travel books that Emily had unearthed from Richard's library. As soon as she held one in her hand, the memories started flooding back, and they hadn't stopped. She glanced over at Rory, who was sound asleep in the passenger seat, and smiled softly. The last memory had come in a rush as she stood at the window of the nursery, looking at Christopher's new baby daughter, and feeling the ache she thought had long since healed.

Lorelai pulled to a stop at the deserted red light in the center of town and saw that the lights at Luke's were still on. She frowned for a second, and wondered what Luke was doing open so late, and then quickly realized that this meant that she could have a cup of coffee. When the light turned green, Lorelai eased over to the curb, put the Jeep in park, but kept the motor running so that Rory would stay warm. She opened the door and had one leg dangling for the ground when she caught sight of Luke. He was sitting at one of the tables talking to the woman who had come into the diner earlier that night. She watched for a moment, absorbed by how animated he was. Luke was obviously engrossed in telling a story, his smile flashing bright white teeth that were usually bared with a growl. Lorelai quickly closed the door, gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, her cheeks burning as Rory stirred in the seat next to her.

"We home?" Rory asked sleepily.

"Almost," Lorelai said as she quickly put the Jeep in gear and pulled away from the curb. As she turned the corner, she couldn't resist a look back at the diner, and then pressed her hand unconsciously to her stomach to still the jumping beans that had just moved in.

Moments later, she pulled to a stop in their driveway. When they climbed from the car, Lorelai gently took Rory's backpack from the tired girl's hand. She wrapped an arm around her daughter's waist as they made their way into the house, and then Rory shuffled directly to her room. Lorelai poked her head into Rory's room after checking the answering machine for messages, and saw Rory climbing into bed in her Curious George pajamas. Lorelai smiled and said, "Night, Sweets."

Rory turned to look at her mother and said softly, "Thanks for coming. I know that had to be weird for you."

Lorelai just shook her head and said, "I'd go anywhere for you. And for pie," she added with a smile.

"Georgia was cute," Rory said as she settled back onto her pillow.

"Very cute," Lorelai agreed with a nod.

Rory smiled at Lorelai and said, "Night, Mom."

"Night," Lorelai said softly as she pulled Rory's door closed. She wandered over to the fridge and pulled the door open, gnawing on her bottom lip as she scanned its sparse contents. She let the door swing closed with an apathetic flick of her wrist, and drummed her fingers nervously on her thigh, too antsy to go to bed, despite the late hour and far to keyed up to sit still. She walked back into the foyer, yanked her coat from the rack and slipped her arms into it. She prized a hat and some gloves from the pockets and pulled them on before stepping out of the front door and pulling it quietly closed behind her.

Lorelai started off down the driveway and turned right at the foot of it, following her usual, 'I need to clear my head' route toward the center of town. Her footsteps were heavy and slow as she tried to sift through the contents of her mind, shaking her head slightly as idle thoughts fell away, and she tried to get down to the nitty gritty. _It hurt, seeing Christopher there like that,_ she admitted her herself as she turned on Plum_. It hurt to see him so in control, so, so there,_ she thought with a sigh. _He was completely there for Sherry and their baby. Focused, steady, excited, enthralled, all of the things that he never was for me or for Rory,_ she realized. Lorelai stopped walking for a second, drawing in a deep breath of cold crisp air as she blinked back the tears that threatened. She refused to let them spill. After that night at the diner, Lorelai had vowed never to cry over Christopher again. The vow had been bent a couple of times since, and broken once, but each time, she swallowed it down and started all over again with renewed determination. She realized logically that it wasn't worth it. She knew in her heart that it simply wasn't meant to be that way for them, but hope is a nearly impossible flame to extinguish entirely.

Lorelai shoved her gloved hands into her coat pockets as she hunched her shoulders and began walking again. Staring at the toes of her boots as she moved quickly toward the center of town, Lorelai realized that it was Christopher that she was crying for as much as what he had been to Sherri. 'My Christopher' she had called him when he swept into the room. Lorelai wanted that more than anything. That person that she could count on, that person whose mere presence was enough to calm her, make her feel safe, make her feel loved. She had never spoken that deep seeded desire aloud to anyone until the night that she cried into a coffee cup and poured her heart out to her friend Luke, the one who always heard it all.

She stopped abruptly as she approached the corner and saw two people emerging from the diner. Lorelai smirked as she stepped back into the shadows and watched to see how the end of a date with Luke Danes would go. _He'll probably shake her hand, blush and run for the hills,_ Lorelai thought with a smile. Her smile faded slowly as she saw Luke place his hand on the lawyer-chick's back as he guided her to a bland colored starter luxury sedan. Her stomach began to jump again as she leaned out a little further, trying to get a better angle as she saw their faces illuminated by the street light. She saw Luke smile and laugh at something she said, but she was too far away to hear his response. Lorelai's breath hitched slightly as she saw him place his hand gently on the woman's arm and lean in slightly, looking down at her intently. She watched as the redhead tilted her face up, a small smile on her lips as she closed her eyes and welcomed his kiss goodnight.

"Uh," Lorelai groaned softly and closed her eyes just before she saw his lips touch hers. She pressed her gloved fingers to her lips, and forced her eyes open again, her heart hammering as she watched him smile and say something to her as he opened the car door for her to get in. She saw the woman's smug smile as she turned to lower herself into the driver's seat. Luke's eyes crinkled as he laughed at whatever she had said, and then closed the door with a gentle but firm thud. He stepped back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black leather coat as she started the car, and then moved to the sidewalk and watched patiently as she pulled away from the curb. Lorelai saw Luke's hand lift in that little half wave, and swallowed a rush of outrage as she saw him walk back into the diner.

_How dare he wave at her like that, that's my wave,_ she thought furiously. _He only does that wave with me, or Rory, she conceded. But that's okay, I'll share with Rory, but I'm not sharing my wave with that chick, whoever she was,_ Lorelai thought with a scowl. She stepped away from the side of the building she had pressed herself against and started walking toward the diner. As she stepped up onto the curb, she saw the lights go out downstairs, and felt the fight drain from her. Lorelai stared at the darkened diner, trying to figure out what she thought she was about to do anyway. A laugh escaped her as she thought, _What were you going to do? Demand that he not wave at other people? Teach him a new repertoire of waves so that hers doesn't conflict with yours? Hey, maybe he could just flash her a big thumbs up, would that be better for you?_ she mocked herself as she turned away from Luke's and hurried toward the gazebo.

Lorelai dropped to the bench, pressed her hands between her knees, let her head fall back against the worn wooden pillar as she closed her eyes, and tried to figure out what she was crying about now. As the hot tears coursed down her cold cheeks, she heard Luke call, "Hey, are you okay?"

Lorelai sat up quickly, wiping her cheeks with the tips of her gloved fingers and saying, "I'm fine."

She heard him chuckle in disbelief as he raised a foot to the bottom step and said, "I've seen you feeling fine, and this is not what it looks like."

Lorelai carefully kept her face averted from him. "I'm just, rough night, I just came from the hospital," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Hospital?" Luke asked, his voice rising as he was up and into the gazebo in a flash. "Are you alright? Is Rory?" he asked as he moved to squat down in front of her, taking both of her arms in his hands and squeezing gently.

"Fine, fine, we're both fine," she assured him quickly. "Um, Sherri, Christopher's girlfriend, fiancée, whatever, she had their baby tonight," she told him. "We were up there with them."

Luke reared back in dismay and asked incredulously, "Why?"

"Huh?" Lorelai said, shocked by the vehemence in his voice.

"Why? Why were you there?" he demanded.

"Because Rory went there to meet her little sister," she responded in a bewildered tone. "Chris wasn't there, and Rory was alone with Sherri. I went there to be with Rory. Trust me, nothing freaks an eighteen year old girl out faster than being left alone with a woman barreling down on transition," she said with a short laugh.

"Where was he?" Luke asked as he shook his head.

"Oh, he made it. He swooped in just as the feature presentation was starting," Lorelai told him. "Christopher was always good at being just in time for the main event," she said with a shrug.

Luke's expression softened as he said, "I'm sorry. That had to suck for you."

Lorelai shrugged and offered him a weak smile as she said, "I could have thought of better things to do, but at least Rory got to see her baby sister."

When she glanced down, Luke realized that he hadn't relinquished his hold on her arms, and quickly did so, moving to sit on the creaking wooden bench next to her. "Why are you out here?" he asked. "It's not safe to sit out here by yourself."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I'm fine. I just needed to take a walk to clear my head." She turned to look at him and said, "Why are you out here?"

Luke rubbed his hands together as he shrugged and said, "I left my keys on a table. I saw you walking away when I came down to get them."

Lorelai rubbed her eyes with her fingertips, trying to soothe the pounding headache that pulsed behind them. "I'm so tired," she whispered, unaware that she had spoken the words out loud.

"You shouldn't cry over him, he's not worth it," Luke said firmly. When she jerked her head up in surprise, he shook his head and said adamantly, "He isn't, Lorelai." He stood up and began to pace the gazebo as he said, "I hate seeing you beat yourself up over this guy. He doesn't deserve it," he insisted.

"Luke," Lorelai said softly, trying to stop him, but failing.

"The only manly thing the guy has ever managed to do is to get two women pregnant, and trust me, that's the easy part," he said, pointing his finger at the ground as he warmed up to the rant. "Why can't you see that?" he asked angrily as he turned to glare at her.

"Why are you getting mad at me?" she asked, her voice rising in frustration.

"I hate this," Luke said through clenched teeth. "I hate seeing you like this. Especially over him," he said as he flung his arm out in frustration. "Max, maybe he would have been worth it, but not this guy," he told her as he shook his head.

"I know he isn't," Lorelai said loudly, her hands baled into fists. When Luke turned to look her in the eye, she said in a softer tone, "I know."

Luke nodded and turned away as he drew in a ragged breath, and tamped down the rest of what he wanted to say on the subject, knowing that he had already said too much. After a moment, he turned back to her and held out his hand. "Come on, I'll walk you home," he said in a gentler tone.

Lorelai pressed her lips together as she looked at the hand that just a short time ago rested on another girl's back. She placed hers gingerly in his palm, and felt the strength of his fingers as they closed around hers and he pulled her up from the bench. The moment her feet were under her, he released her hand, and Lorelai immediately noticed the rush of cold through her glove. She shoved both hands into her coat pockets, and Luke did the same as they walked side by side down the steps of the gazebo. They crossed the square in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Lorelai asked quietly, "How'd the date go?"

"Uh, good. It went, um, it was good," Luke answered gruffly.

"And she's a lawyer?" Lorelai asked as she glance up at him and wrinkled her nose doubtfully.

Instead of feeling insulted, Luke laughed and ducked his head as he said, "Worse, she's Taylor's lawyer."

Lorelai blinked rapidly and asked, "Are the locusts far behind?"

"I know," he said with an abashed chuckle.

Lorelai looked over at him curiously as she asked in a cautious tone, "And you liked her?"

Luke nodded and kept his eyes focused on the sidewalk as he said, "Yeah."

"Well, will wonders never cease," Lorelai murmured.

Luke chuckled again and said, "Don't know how much she liked me. I kind of rambled a lot tonight," he admitted.

"You?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.

"I was nervous," he said defensively.

Lorelai looked over at him with an affectionate sidelong glance and said, "I'm sure that she liked you a lot." When Luke snorted his doubt of her sincerity, she tugged at the sleeve of his black leather coat and pulled him to a stop. "I'm serious," she said as she looked him square in the eye. "You area a great guy, Luke, probably the best man I've ever met," she said with quiet conviction.

Luke searched her eyes in the dim light of the winter moon and saw that she truly believed what she was saying. For a moment, completely of its own volition, his body swayed toward hers, and he would swear on anything that you placed in front of him that she leaned in too, her eyes locked on his. Then his gaze involuntarily dropped to her lips, and the spell was broken. Lorelai placed a gentle hand on his chest, holding him off as she felt the rapid beat of his heart under her fingers. She swallowed thickly as she glanced down at her hand on him and then looked up, her bright smile firmly in place. "She'd better be worthy, or I'll kick her ass," she said in a slightly hoarse voice as her hand fell away.

Luke nodded, his jaw flexing as he turned toward her house and began to walk again. "Glad that I have some muscle in my corner," he said dryly, trying to recover his composure.

"Always," Lorelai said with a nod as they turned up her driveway.

When they reached the bottom of her porch steps, Luke turned to look at her and asked, "Are you gonna be alright?"

Lorelai nodded and said, "I'll be fine. Now, go home and replay your date over again in your head. I expect you to improve your performance before the next one," she said in a lightly teasing tone.

Luke smirked as he nodded and then said, "Goodnight, Lorelai."

"Night, Luke, and thank you," she said softly.

Luke shook his head and shrugged as he said, "What else are friends for?"

Lorelai flinched slightly as she turned to walk up the porch stairs. She opened the front door and gave him a small wave as she closed it behind her. Lorelai turned out the hall light, and then leaned against the wall next to the door, pressing her hand to her stomach as she released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Oh my God," she whispered to the darkened house. "I almost kissed Luke." She looked down, pressing her hand to her stomach harder to try to calm the butterflies that had taken flight. She closed her eyes and pressed her head against the wall her eyes searching the darkened ceiling as she admitted only to herself, _I wanted to kiss Luke._

She pushed herself away from the wall and walked slowly toward the stairs. On the landing, she paused to look at the wall that had just held her up and said softly, "Sorry, but I can't trust that you guys won't talk, he being the guy with the nails and all. You know how walls are," she added with a shrug as she turned and continued up the stairs.

Luke turned and walked back down the driveway, kicking himself in the ass the whole way. As soon as he hit the sidewalk, the internal rant began when he muttered, "Idiot," under his breath. He stopped, breathed in a lungful of the crisp night air and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to conjure up Nicole's face.

When he finally managed to do it, he straightened his shoulders and began to walk again. _Okay, so there was a moment. There always was,_ he reasoned. _It didn't have to mean anything. She doesn't want it to mean anything, _he told himself. _You've got a good thing going here. Don't blow it now for a big chance at nothin',_ he told himself sternly as he shoved his hands into his coat pockets and hurried home by the light of the moon.


	4. Understudies

**A/N: Please note - rating changed for safety. While I would consider the content of this chapter still 'R' rated, there are some who may feel differently.**

**Understudies**

_**Takes place during Swan Song**_

It had only taken a couple of weeks for them to get back on track. In typical fashion, that moment in the moonlight was never mentioned, never even alluded to. It only took five days before Luke could look her in the eye again. He was too afraid of what he would see there; mockery, condemnation, or worse that flash of something that he had written off as a trick of the moonlight. It only took a week before Lorelai had to stop telling herself to stop staring at Luke's lips; to stop thinking about the taste of them, to stop thinking about how soft they must feel. They fell back into their usual pattern, living their own lives, and avoiding the possibility of emotional talks and almost kisses fueled by the need for a little warmth on a cold night.

Lorelai limited her trips to the diner to daylight hours, keeping that counter safely between them, more for Luke's sake than her own. She had seen Alex three times in the last two weeks. In between the prep work for opening the coffee shop and spending time with his children, Alex had taken her to dinner, to a movie, and finally last Saturday, cooked dinner for her at his apartment. After dinner, Lorelai stayed on for dessert. She tried to tell herself that she should be happy with how things were going with them. Alex was a very nice man; kind and considerate, with a good sense of humor and an easy going nature. She told herself that it should be attractive that his jokes were served with genuine humor rather than a generous edge of sarcasm. She told herself that he was an attentive and giving lover, even if their night together had lacked that spark of passionate urgency. She told herself that passion was overrated, and that he was a very good catch. Alex was generous and helpful; caring, but not in a not overbearing way; and steady, but not boring. All in all, he reminded her of Luke, but not. He was Luke without the edge, Luke without the anger and frustration, Luke without that dangerous sizzle that sometimes arced between them, Luke without the fire. Luke Lite. She told herself that this was a good thing, that it was far more vital that Luke remained Luke, a constant presence in her life and in her daughter's. _So constant that he could apparently recite the contents of her closet,_ she thought with a smirk as she climbed the stairs to his apartment to retrieve the book he had offered to loan to her. More importantly, Luke seemed happy, and even though it made her stomach clench if she thought to hard about why he might be so happy, she wanted that for him. She wanted to be happy that he was happy, she told herself as she opened the door to his apartment and got the shock of her life.

Happy would not be the word Luke would have chosen to describe his state of mind. Resigned might be a better word. No, resigned would be wrong too, because it would be insulting to Nicole. He genuinely liked Nicole. He liked spending time with her, even though her work schedule was so demanding that they had only spent a handful of evenings together since their first date. She was witty, in a dry, understated way. She didn't feel the need to clobber a person over the head with a joke or a comment, and she didn't make him feel like he had to hit the reference section at the Stars Hollow Library in order to puzzle out obscure references to persons, places and things. She was pretty, always well dressed, even when they spent a casual evening sharing a pizza after she had finished taking a deposition. Yes, she was a little different from the women he usually dated. She preferred wine to beer. She had firm opinions of most everything, from music to movies to politics, and wasn't afraid to share them. She had an open, curious mind that absorbed details and information, and filed it away neatly for future use. Although she wasn't opposed to the occasional burger or plate of fries, Nicole liked to eat healthy, just as he did; but she also took great pleasure in good food, just like he did. Nicole liked the theater and had access to tickets to some of the biggest productions on Broadway. As far as Luke was concerned, it was a damn good thing she had taken him to see The Producers before she scored those tickets to Hairspray, because if it had been the other way around, there was no way she would have gotten him there. That show had made him want to slit his wrists with the Playbill, not that he would have admitted that to Nicole, who obviously loved it. He wasn't about to admit it to Lorelai either, because he enjoyed seeing the surprise on her face when he mentioned what he had heard about the show she planned to see. He also derived a smidgen of pleasure from watching her eyes cloud over a little when he said that he and Nicole had been to see the other productions. It was that small triumph that led him to offer the use of the guidebook he had picked up so as not to look like a bumpkin to Nicole.

Lorelai came flying out from behind the curtain holding the book he had recommended and said, "Dude!

Luke looked up from the table he was clearing and asked, "Hey. Find it okay?"

Lorelai nodded, wide eyed as she said, "Yeah. I found everything, including a couple coupling."

Luke smirked and ducked his head a little as he said, "Oh, Rory and Jess?"

Lorelai shook her head incredulously and said, "No, Ben and J. Lo. Yes, Rory and Jess!"

Luke shrugged and said, "I guess I should've told you."

"You knew they were up there?" she demanded as she followed him back to the counter.

"They're up there all the time," he told her.

Lorelai glared at him and said, "On the couch. Horizontal, on the couch," she clarified.

Luke nodded as he stowed the dishes he was carrying in a tub to be carried to the kitchen and said offhandedly, "They come up for air every so often."

Lorelai gaped at him for a moment, unable to find her voice. When she did locate it, she let him have it. "And you just allow this? Luke!"

"Settle down," Luke said gruffly. "I go up there every ten minutes pretending to get something to keep them from doing something we don't want," he told her as he gestured between them. 'Oops, I forgot my pocketknife, Oops, uh, I'm out of ones, Uh, hey, you see a case of mustard up here?'" he mimicked himself as he pulled a box piled high with junk from under the counter. "I put the stuff in a box. I take the box upstairs every couple days and start all over again," he said with a satisfied smile.

Lorelai blinked at the box of junk and asked, "And you think that suffices?"

Luke shrugged again and said, "Look, its better that they're safe and upstairs than someplace else." He looked over at her as he shoved the box under the counter again and said, "And you going up there just now saved me a trip, so thanks."

Lorelai frowned and muttered, "Glad to be of service."

Luke nodded and said confidently, "I got a good system, it works."

Lorelai looked at him skeptically as she picked up her purse and the book. "Every ten minutes?" she asked.

"Like clockwork, never a minute more," Luke assured her.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and she asked, "Even if you're serving a customer, it's every ten minutes?"

Luke nodded again and said, "If I'm in mid-pour, I stop and go up."

Lorelai took a deep breath as she swallowed the acceptance he was offering her. "Ten minutes," she murmured. She looked up as she nodded sagely, picked up her too-go cup of coffee and said, "Yeah, that's pretty much the time it took to create Rory. And that included getting dressed and freshening my lipstick," she added as she headed for the door.

"What?" Luke asked, torn between amusement at her dig at Christopher, and confusion as he pondered whether it was really possible that ten minutes was too much time.

Lorelai smirked and called, "Thanks for the book," as she waved it at him and then hurried through the door.

Luke watched her leave, and the moment she was out of sight, he called, "Caesar, cover for me," and bolted for the stairs.

XXXX

Luke did his best not to look for her in the crowd as they filed out of the theater and into the lobby for intermission. When Nicole had called that morning to say that she had been given tickets for the Friday night production of Levittown by one of the senior partners, Luke didn't mention that Lorelai was going to see it that same weekend. He assumed that their tickets were for Saturday, and therefore felt safe in agreeing to go. He tried to mention Lorelai as little as possible around Nicole, sensing that she was not as comfortable about his friendship with Lorelai as he might have hoped. He arranged for Caesar to cover the diner for the night, and that afternoon, hurried upstairs to shower, change and head into Manhattan. He met her at her firm's office on Madison, offering her a chaste kiss hello in the lobby before they left to have an early dinner before the show. Now, he scanned the overcrowded lobby under to pretense of figuring out which bar had the shortest line, murmured that he would be right back, and headed in the direction of the most likely choice.

Luke stood in line with the other men sent to fetch drinks for their wives and girlfriends and gleaned for more amusement from his own internal rant about the asinine show, the annoying music, the price of cheap plastic cups with two inches of cheap box wine, than he had from anything else that evening. As each successive sucker ducked away from the bar with hands full of plastic tumblers, the cattle shifted forward and he wondered how he was going to tell Nicole that he didn't want to do this anymore. He could think of two dozen other things he would rather be doing at that moment, including cleaning out the grease trap and seeing Jess try to remove Rory's tonsils with his tongue. Luke shook his head to clear it as he corrected himself, placing the part about Jess making out with the little girl that wore fairy wings far behind Levittown. He closed his eyes and tried to block out he images of scenes he had walked in on before they got hip to his ten minute raids, telling himself that he would rather attend showings of this miserable dreck every night of the week than relive those moments again. He smiled, remembering his conversation with Lorelai, and chuckled to himself as he replayed her comment about how little time Christopher had contributed to Rory's creation. Luke inched a little closer to the front of the line and took a deep breath, trying to refocus his mind. Trying to shake the sound of Lorelai's voice as he forced himself to think about the girl he came here with.

Lorelai and Sookie moved to the side of the lobby, trying to find a pocket amidst the milling throng while Alex and Jackson headed for the bar. Lorelai studiously avoided commenting on the show, afraid that once the snarky commentary started, she wouldn't be able to stop it, and she didn't want to hurt Alex's feelings after he had been nice enough to get the tickets for them. Instead, she set her sights on the women of the lobby, scanning their outfits and murmuring into Sookie's ear, cracking them both up.

Sookie surveyed the crowd, looking for a likely victim, and feeling the need to top the woman Lorelai had pointed out with the wild Rosanne Rosannadanna hair coupled with the purple leopard print micro-mini dress that left nothing of her lower half to the imagination. She was about to point out a man in line for the bar who sported not only horrendously executed hair plugs, but also a mullet that would have made Michael Bolton green with envy. She opened her mouth to point him out to Lorelai when a familiar face caught her eye. Sookie blinked and said, "Huh, that guy looks just like…" she trailed off as the man turned into the crowd carrying his drinks. Sookie craned her neck, trying to get a better look and gasped, "It is Luke! Luke is here," she said excitedly as she grabbed Lorelai's arm and gave her a shake.

"Whoa, down girl," Lorelai cautioned. "Luke?" she asked.

"Luke! Luke Danes," Sookie said as she pointed him out in the crowd. "Wow, this is so weird. I never see people I know in the city, and there's Luke!" Sookie said with a grin. "Hey, there's Luke," she said as her smile turned to a puzzled frown. "What is Luke doing here? Why would Luke go to a musical?" she asked.

Lorelai smirked as she spotted Nicole taking a tentative sip from her cup of white wine and said, "Look a little to your right, Squiggy."

"My right or his right?" Sookie asked as she maneuvered around, trying to see through the crowd.

"Yours," Lorelai answered tersely.

"Oh," Sookie said softly. She turned to Lorelai and asked, "That's the new girlfriend?"

"That is," Lorelai confirmed with a nod as she took the opportunity to give Nicole a more through once over than she had gotten the chance to before. "Pretty," Lorelai murmured.

Sookie frowned and asked, "You think so? I mean, I guess so, but not what I would have pictured for Luke," she said with a shrug as she checked Nicole out. "Looks a little uptight," she commented.

Lorelai snorted and asked, "Do you know any guys who are more uptight than Luke?"

"Luke isn't uptight," Sookie said dismissively.

Lorelai laughed as she watched him trying to hide his grimaces each time people bumped into him in the crowded lobby. "What would you call it?" Lorelai asked Sookie with a teasing grin.

"Luke can be intense, but uptight, no, I don't think so," Sookie answered in all seriousness.

"Intense," Lorelai repeated as she studied him a little closer. She saw him lean in to hear something that Nicole was saying, and then smiled at her as he shook his head. He placed his lips close to Nicole's ear to speak, and Lorelai felt a twinge as she wondered what he could be saying. She hadn't realized that Sookie noticed her watching him because she was far too absorbed in the way Luke's adam's apple bobbed as he took a drink of his beer.

"He looks good," Sookie said as she shot a knowing look at Lorelai.

"He should, I picked out that jacket," Lorelai muttered as she tore her eyes from the couple.

"You did?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai nodded and turned back to Sookie as she said, "You know, when I did that shopping for him, a couple of years ago," with a dismissive wave of her hand. She glanced back over at Luke and remembered that he had been with Rachel at the time. She noticed that he was wearing a new dress shirt with the jacket, a bright blue that set off his eyes as he turned to scan the crowd. She tried to ignore the sharp ping of jealousy that zinged through her brain and sizzled through her central nervous system as she realized that she had not picked out that particular garment. "New shirt," she murmured, not realizing that she had spoken out loud.

"Looks nice," Sookie said with a nod, eying her friend speculatively.

Lorelai turned to look at Sookie as she said in a neutral tone, "Yes, it does. Where are the boys? I'm parched," she complained as she craned her neck to try to spot Jackson and Alex.

Sookie looked around too, and then finally said, "Ooh! There they are," as she saw them making their way back over to them, drinks in hand.

Lorelai followed Sookie's nod and saw that the path Alex and Jackson had chosen would have them passing right by Luke and Nicole. She winced, and sent up a silent prayer that for once Jackson's oblivion would work in her favor. Her prayer was not to be answered, though. Luke took a small step back from Nicole and bumped right into Jackson. When he turned to apologize, Lorelai saw Jackson's face light up as he spoke to Luke animatedly. She saw Luke nod and then say something to Nicole, and the next thing she knew, they were following Jackson and Alex back to the spot where Lorelai and Sookie stood waiting. Lorelai watched Luke as his eyes raked over Alex's back, a scowl fixed firmly on his face as he ushered Nicole through the crowd with his hand on the small of her back.

Jackson led them through the crush and upon reaching the ladies said, "Hey! Look who I found!" as he nodded to Luke. "Strange, huh? I guess it is a small world," he said as he handed Sookie her drink.

"Thank you," Lorelai murmured as she took her drink from Alex.

"Hi, Luke!" Sookie said with a bright smile.

"Sookie, " Luke answered with a nod.

She looked over at Luke and Nicole and plastered a smile on her face as she said, "Small it is. Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Luke nodded to Nicole and said, "Nicole got the tickets from one of the partners in her firm, so here we are."

"Well, cool," Lorelai said in an overly bright voice. "Hi Nicole, it's nice to see you again," she said with what she hoped looked like a friendly smile.

"Hi, uh, Lorelai, was it?" Nicole asked with a quick look at Luke.

"Oh, sorry, yeah," Luke said quickly. "Yes, this is Lorelai, you met her at the diner," he said quickly. "And this is Sookie St. James and Jackson Belleville, they live in Stars Hollow too. This is Nicole Leahy," he said as he returned his hand to her back.

Lorelai heard Alex clear his throat softly and gave a startled jump as she said, "Oh! Sorry. This is Alex Lesman. Alex, this is Luke Danes and Nicole. Luke runs the diner in town," she explained.

"Ah, the man with the coffee to beat," Alex said good naturedly as he held out his hand to shake Luke's.

"And you must be the guy with thirty one flavors," Luke said unsmilingly as he took Alex's hand, and tried to be covert in sizing the guy up.

Alex laughed and said, "Well, not thirty one, but we are going to have quite a few." He placed his hand gently on Lorelai's shoulder as he said, "It's good when you have an expert to help weed out the clunkers. We're thinking of putting her on retainer," he teased as he smiled affectionately at Lorelai.

Luke chuckled nervously as he tried to squelch the impulse to knock the guy's hand off of her. "Leave it up to her and you'll also be able to clean your carburetor with the stuff you'll be selling," he warned darkly before taking another sip of his beer, staring at Lorelai intently over the rim of his cup.

"Hey!" Lorelai cried in mock outrage. She sent Nicole and insincere smile and said in a conspiratorial tone, "He's probably right. If anyone knows how I like my coffee, it's Luke," she added with an overly sweet smile.

Mercifully, the lights dimmed momentarily before Nicole could reply, and Luke nodded to her as he said, "Hey, almost time. Should we find our seats again?"

"Yes," Nicole said as she turned to him with a nod. She looked back at the foursome and said politely, "It was nice to meet you all. Oh, nice to see you again, Lorelai," she added as and afterthought.

Luke gave them a small wave, and then pressed gently on Nicole's back, propelling her toward the theater doors. "Sorry," he murmured in her ear.

"For what?" she asked as she glanced back at him.

"Getting dragged over there," he answered with a shrug as they stepped through the doors and found a little more space to move. "What were the odds, huh?" he asked with a small shrug. Without saying another word, Luke allowed Nicole to lead him by the hand down the aisle to their row, and followed her across to their seats.

As they sat down, Nicole said, "It was fine, Luke. I just hope we don't run into them after, I don't want to have to go out for drinks or anything," she said as she settled into her seat.

"Oh?" Luke asked, surprised that the thought had occurred to her when it hadn't even dawned on him. For a moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to run into them, if for no other reason than to get a better read on that Alex guy.

"Not that there's anything wrong with your friends," Nicole answered quickly. She wrapped her hand around his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We just don't have very much time together, and I don't want to share you," she said with a flirty smile.

"Oh," Luke said, flashing a quick guilty smile in return before he gave her hand an absent pat and settled back in his seat. As the house lights went down, Luke found himself wondering why the words she said filled him with more trepidation than anticipation.

XXXX

"She's a little brittle," Sookie whispered to Lorelai as they made their way back into the theater for the second act.

"Hollow glass," Lorelai muttered under her breath.

Sookie wrinkled her nose as they made their way down the aisle in front of Jackson and Alex and said, "Seems kind of cold for Luke."

Wanting to drop the subject, Lorelai smiled at Sookie and said, "Who knows, maybe she's just having a bad day."

When they reached their row, Sookie stopped and waited for Jackson to enter before her so that she could sit next to Lorelai. As they scooted along, begging pardon and trying to gain their seats as quickly as possible, Sookie turned back to Lorelai and said, "She could be like one of those sexy secretaries."

"Huh? She's a lawyer," Lorelai corrected as they dropped gratefully into their seats.

"Well, not really a secretary, but you know," Sookie said as she leaned close to whisper in Lorelai's ear. "She could be one of those girls who looks all buttoned up, but get them in the sack, and watch out!" she whispered with a lurid wink.

Lorelai turned to Sookie and said firmly, "I really don't want to talk about this."

"What? Luke's girlfriend?" Sookie asked with a frown.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and hissed, "I really don't want to try to figure out what his girlfriend is like in bed. It's too weird."

Sookie nodded her understanding and sat back in her seat. She was quiet for a moment while the theater continued to fill, and then said, "You know what's weird? Luke is dating a lawyer. Luke Danes," she said with a giggle.

"She's a lawyer?" Jackson asked, leaning out to look across Sookie at Lorelai for confirmation.

"Yes, she's a lawyer," Lorelai confirmed.

"Who the woman with your friend?" Alex asked.

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "They haven't been dating very long," she explained, just as the though occurred to her that Luke had been seeing Nicole for almost as long as she had been dating Alex. She turned back to Sookie and said, "What's even more weird is that she's Taylor's lawyer."

Sookie gasped and pointed excitedly at Lorelai as she said, "That's right! You told me that!"

"She's Taylor's lawyer, and Luke is dating her?" Jackson asked incredulously.

When Lorelai nodded again, Alex leaned over and asked, "Are lawyers, uh, forbidden in Stars Hollow?"

Lorelai shook her head and smiled at him as he took her hand in his. "Um, no. Luke is just, he's um," she stammered, trying to find the right words to explain Luke to a stranger. "Luke is Luke," she said with a shrug. "He's very, uh, vocal on the things he dislikes, and usually lawyers would be pretty high on that list. Taylor Doose, the town Selectman, drives Luke straight up the wall, so the fact that Nicole is Taylor's lawyer, just makes it a little funnier," she said with a smile.

"I see," Alex said as he leaned a little closer. He kissed her softly on the lips as the lights went down and said teasingly, "Well, as long as you're amused."

XXXX

When the show ended, the four of them wandered out of the theater in a daze. "So, good, good show," Jackson said, at last breaking the silence.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Yeah, yeah." She looked up at Alex and said, "Alex, thank you for getting us those tickets."

Sookie nodded quickly as she chimed in by saying, "Great production value."

Jackson agreed, "Oh, amazing. I mean, the way they do lighting on these things."

"It's magical, it's magical," Sookie gushed.

Alex smirked as he said quietly, "This is the worst piece of crap I've ever seen."

"What?" Lorelai gasped.

Alex nodded and said matter of factly, "I saw Moose Murders. This stinks worse."

Sookie pressed her hand to her heart and said, "I thought it was me."

Relieved, Jackson confessed, "I was dying in there."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and said, "Every song is the same."

"The same two notes," Sookie added.

Lorelai shook her head sadly and asked, "How does that happen?"

Sookie began singing in a monotone voice, "I feel so very bad. Yes, I feel so very sad."

"I'm sad, I'm mad, I'm sad, I'm mad," Lorelai sang flatly, joining in on the fun.

"I'm mad, I'm sad, I'm mad, I'm sad," Sookie sang, hitting the same notes repetitively.

Lorelai jumped as she heard a deep voice behind her say, "I'm sorry, but that's better." She turned around in time to see Luke tell Sookie, "Rent a theater."

Nicole clung tightly to Luke's hand as she admonished, "Now, it wasn't that bad. There was some really interesting stuff in there."

Luke and Lorelai shared an amused glanced before Luke looked over at Nicole and said, "You're right." he turned to look at Sookie and Jackson as he said, "The lighting was magical," and tried to stifle a laugh.

"Look, I say we hit the hotel bar, get some drinks, continue plotting out this musical you guys are writing," Alex suggested with a grin. He turned to Luke and Nicole and said, "You're welcome to join us, we're staying over at the W Hotel at Times Square."

Luke felt Nicole squeeze his hand firmly, and said, "No, that's okay. I think we'll just let you guys get on with your evening," he said gruffly, trying not to look directly at Lorelai and Alex.

"Aw, come on, Luke. We could have a part for you in our musical," Sookie said cajolingly.

Luke shook his head as he glanced at Nicole, trying to mask his annoyance as she continued to squeeze his hand and said, "No thanks. Nicole has an early day tomorrow, don't you?" he asked her pointedly.

Nicole offered them a small smile as she said, "I'm afraid I do."

Lorelai nodded and said, "That's too bad. But good for you," she said as she pointed to Luke. When he looked at her with a perplexed frown, Lorelai grinned as she tapped her bare wrist and said teasingly, "Someone needs to be running the ten minute checks."

Luke reared back slightly, and then asked, "Aren't they having dinner with your mom tonight?"

"Yes, but contrary to how it feels when you're in the thick of it, dinner at the Gilmore's does not actually last all night. It just seems that way," she said with mock solemnity.

"I see," Luke said with a nod as he realized that she expected him to go home to babysit her kid and his nephew while she played in New York with the fishing guy. "I'll get right on that," he said tersely. Luke looked over at Nicole and asked in a gentler tone, "You ready?"

"We'll grab a cab," Jackson told Alex.

"See you tomorrow, Luke!" Sookie said as she and Jackson made a beeline for the curb.

"Goodnight," Luke called after them. He turned back to Lorelai and Alex and said, "See ya," before quickly leading Nicole away.

Lorelai turned to watch them go, and Alex saw the frown that creased her brow. "You okay?" he asked.

"What? Oh, yeah," she said as she turned back to him. She reached for her purse and pulled out her cell phone and checked the display.

Alex smiled and asked, "Who were you expecting?"

Lorelai flashed him a slightly abashed smile and said, "Oh, Rory. I mean, not that I'm expecting a call because a call could mean something bad, so, um, not getting a call is probably best," she babbled.

"Probably," he agreed with a nod.

"She's got this boy," Lorelai told him worriedly.

"I know," Alex said sympathetically. He nodded in the direction that Luke and Nicole had taken off in and asked, "Isn't your friend going to check in on her?"

Lorelai paused as she turned to look, but Luke was already gone. She bit her lip indecisively and then nodded as she realized that Luke would check on them anyway. "Putting away phone now," she told Alex with a smile.

Alex smiled at her as he draped his arm over her shoulder and led her toward the cab that Sookie and Jackson had hailed, "Good girl," he said softly as he kissed her temple.

XXXX

Luke Danes may have looked calm on the outside but on the inside he was seething. _Who the hell did she think she was, sending him home to check on her kid while she's off with Loverboy for the night? When did it become my responsibility to make sure her kid walks the line? Why does she automatically assume that I'm going home? _he ranted to himself as they sped through the night.

"Uh, Luke," Nicole said softly, snapping him from his reverie. When he looked over at her, she shifted uncomfortably on the bench seat of the truck and said, "You're doing ninety-five."

Luke immediate lifted his foot from the accelerator and coasted to a more reasonable speed as he glanced over at her and said a sheepish, "Sorry."

"I understand the need to escape from New Haven," she said solemnly. "Thanks for taking me home. You're much better looking than Mr. Stein," she said with a smile.

Luke looked over at her with a half hearted smile and said, "I'm sorry. Yeah, well, it's a good thing that you rode in with him, though. We didn't have to worry about picking up your car," he said with a nod. Luke frowned and said, "I don't like you parking and riding from there anyway. New Haven is a pit, and you don't get home until pretty late some nights," he said in a cranky tone.

Nicole's smile widened as she said, "Aw, do you worry about me, Luke?"

Luke looked over at her, and nodded as he said, "Of course I do."

Nicole scooted a little closer to him on the bench seat and said, "This is one advantage that your truck has over my car."

Luke chuckled and said, "The only one." He found himself suddenly wanting to apologize to her for the old truck. He wanted to apologize for being a million miles away for the past hour or so while he fumed. He needed to apologize for thinking about another woman when there was a really great one sitting right next to him. Luke lifted his hand from the gearshift and draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer still as he drove on toward Litchfield at a more sedate pace.

By the time they reached Nicole's apartment, it was already very late. Luke parked on the street a few spots away from her door and turned off the engine. He stepped down from the truck and jingled his keys in his hand nervously as he skirted the rear bumper, his jaw set with determination. He opened her door and offered hand to help her down from the cab, trying desperately to ignore how incongruous the picture of Nicole sliding from the beat up old truck in her trim little suit would have looked to anyone who happened to be out for a stroll in the wee hours of the morning. Enveloping her delicate hand in his, he walked her up to the door and waited as she unlocked the outer door. Luke stepped into the vestibule after her and waited until the door had closed firmly behind them.

Nicole looked up at him and said, "Thank you for going tonight. I know it's not really your thing," she added with a rueful smile.

"It was nice," he said, lying through his teeth.

"You hated it," she said with a laugh.

"It was nice to be with you," he said firmly.

Nicole reached up and brushed her thumb gently over his smooth cheek as she said, "Sorry things have been so crazy lately."

Luke shook his head and said, "I understand." He smiled as he said, "You're a big shot, with big shot things to do."

"Yeah, that's me," she said wryly. She smiled as he lowered his head, prepared for the usual gentle kisses that marked the end of their scant evenings together. When his lips caught hers, Nicole was taken aback by the vehemence of his kiss. She wound her arms tightly around his neck and clung to him, whimpering softly as he parted her lips with his tongue and demanded more than he had asked for before. When they parted, breathless and a bit dazed, Nicole blinked up at him and asked in a wispy voice, "Do you want to come up?" She watched him closely, seeing the indecision flit across his face, and bracing for his usual excuse of needing to get home to check on Jess.

"Yes," he said in a deep throaty voice.

Nicole's smile spread slowly as she unwound her arms, letting her hands slide slowly over his dress shirt as she looked up at him through her lashes. "I'll make you some tea," she said softly as she laced her fingers through his and began to lead him up the stairs.

XXXX

Lorelai slumped tiredly against the elevator wall, and listened as Sookie sang the new love song they had penned for their musical. "You make me so mad, that sometimes I'm sad, but still I'm glad, because I love you my lad," she crooned to Jackson.

"I'm so glad you're mad, because sometimes I'm a cad, and I know that I've been bad, to make you feel so sad," Jackson warbled back to her.

"They're smashed," Alex murmured in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him.

"You're right! We're going to be a smash!" Sookie crowed as the elevator doors slid open on their floor. "Standing room only, my friend," she said adamantly as she stumbled out into the hallway.

"Whoopsie," Jackson said as he made a grab for her before she fell.

"I think that was stumbling room only," Lorelai said with a bleary eyed smirk.

"I'd better get her to bed," Jackson hissed in an overly loud whisper.

Lorelai and Alex both nodded, and Lorelai stepped forward to help as Alex looped his arm around Lorelai's waist and turned her toward the opposite end of the hall. He smiled down at her and said teasingly, "Nope, you're staying with me, remember?"

"I was just gonna help," she protested, but allowed herself to be led along to corridor to their room. She leaned against the doorframe as Alex inserted the key card and smiled up at him as he held the door open and motioned for her to precede him. "Thank you, kind sir," she said with an impish smile as she stepped into the room lit only from the bright lights of the city below. When Alex flipped the switch to turn the lamps on, Lorelai shook her head and said, "No, leave them off."

Alex obliged, and let the door swing closed behind him standing just inside the darkened room as Lorelai crossed to the window as if drawn by a magnet. He tossed the key onto the dresser and said, "I guess it's bright enough that we don't even need to turn them on."

Lorelai pressed her palms flat against the cool glass pane and said, "I love the city. The energy, the excitement."

Alex cocked his head as he walked over to join her at the window and said, "And yet, you live in a tiny little town."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Oh, I don't want to live here. I just like visiting it."

"Maybe a happy medium?" he suggested. "You could always move to Hartford," he said with a shrug.

Lorelai barked a laugh and said, "Oh hell no." She shook her head and said plainly, "I'm never moving. Stars Hollow is home."

"Forever?" Alex asked with a slight frown.

Lorelai nodded without taking her eyes off of the lights dancing below her and said, "Yeah." She glanced over at him and asked, "Do you feel it?"

"What?" he asked in return.

"That? Can you feel that?" she said as she pointed to the teeming street below.

Alex smiled and said, "I'm just glad that I can't smell it from here."

Lorelai shook her head sadly as she looked down at the still busy streets. "You and Luke," she murmured.

"What?" Alex asked, his eyebrows rose at the mention of another guy.

Lorelai nodded to the window and said, "You and my friend Luke would get along great. I'm sure he'd say about the same thing," she explained.

Alex nodded and said, "Yeah, well Luke seemed like a pretty down to Earth guy."

Suddenly, Lorelai turned to face him and said in a low voice, "Make love to me."

Alex let out a nervous laugh and said, "Um, okay," as he smiled and reached for her waist. "That was an abrupt change of topic," he said with grin as he lowered his head to kiss her gently.

Lorelai pressed her lips to his, opening her mouth and touching the tip of her tongue to his lips. Alex responded immediately, kissing her deeply before pulling away from her with a questioning look. Lorelai shook her head and whispered, "Make love to me now," as she tugged at the hem of his sweater and pushed it up over his chest. She closed her eyes, letting her hands glide over him, trying to appreciate the ripple of muscle beneath the smooth skin, but wishing was more. More bulk, more muscle, more hair, more big strong man to give her what she ached for. As Alex tossed his shirt aside, she watching the play of light over his chest, and rationally knew that most women would find him beautiful. Unfortunately for both of them, Lorelai Gilmore wasn't like most women.

XXXX

Luke was on autopilot from the moment the apartment door closed behind them, kissing her hard and hot, determined not to second guess his decision once it was made. Nicole arched into him, offering him whatever he wanted to take. She let her head fall back, allowing him to plunder her mouth, moaning as his hands slid into her hair. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hide his disappointment when his hands felt nothing by air after a few scant inches by burying his face in the curve of her neck. He massaged the exposed nape of her neck, trying not to feel clumsy and oafish as he felt her delicate bones beneath his large calloused hands. Luke's lifted his head and kissed her again, his tongue tangled with hers, dueling for dominance as his nimble fingers worked the row of buttons down the front of her jacket. He parted the material and his hands found the narrow span of her waist, his thumbs playing over her ribs as he pulled her closer again. He slid his hands over her narrow hips and sighed into her mouth, unable to swallow his frustration as each of his carefully crafted illusions was falling apart. He kissed her harder, punishing her for not being who he wanted her to be, and himself for once again making the wrong choice.

Nicole stepped back pushing against his chest to create a modicum of space between them. Luke stared at her dumbfounded as remorse coursed through his veins, and words of regret flooded his mouth. She looked up at him, her skin flushed and her eyes hot and aroused. "I knew we would be good," she said softly, a smug smile curving her lips as she took his hand and began to lead him to her bedroom.

He wanted to shout, 'No, you're wrong!' at the top of his lungs. He wanted to run, to leave the tastefully furnished sterility of her apartment, hop into his battered old pickup, and flee to his miniscule wood paneled haven. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that it was all a mistake. That she wasn't the girl he wanted. That he wasn't nearly good enough for the likes of her. But most of all, he wanted Lorelai to want him the way that Nicole obviously did. As she closed the bedroom door behind him, Luke looked down into her sparkling eyes and knew that Mick wasn't lying when he said that you can't always get what you want. Luke swallowed hard as she ran her delicate hands over the front of his shirt and then began to unbutton it for him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and reminded himself that if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.

XXXX

Lorelai's hands slid up over Alex's bare back as she stared up at the ceiling. She felt like she was watching it all from above. Somewhere in her vodka pickled brain she pictured herself hovering near the ceiling fixture, holding little scorecards, and waiting to give Alex his marks. _He would score high on technical merit, having hit all of the crucial elements, and lavishing more attention on the ones that garnered more points, _she admitted frankly. _As for as artistic merit was concerned, she really couldn't fault him there, either,_ she told herself. _He couldn't help it if his shoulders were just shy of broad enough. It really wasn't his fault that he had the barest smattering of hair on his chest, unless he waxes_, she added as she stared at the spot she pictured herself in. _And really, what guy doesn't make those annoying grunting noises?_ she wondered as he continued to give the best performance he was capable of. She blinked as he whispered her name in a hoarse voice, and forced herself to come down from the ceiling.

Lorelai closed her eyes and tried to force herself into the moment, but when she did all she could see was Luke's dark blue eyes staring back at her. Her eyes popped open and she saw herself hovering over the bed waving the scorecards as a signal to close them again. She closed her eyes, and felt the warmth of Luke's arms around her, holding her close in his strong embrace as she burrowed into his chest. In her mind, Alex's hands became Luke's hands, large strong and rough, his fingers long and graceful as he stroked her skin. Lorelai moaned softly as she peeled the bright blue shirt from his shoulders and ran her hands over his chest, feeling the tickle of the fine hair against her palms. Alex increased his pace, driving her higher as she felt Luke's soft lips, hot and hungry as they skimmed over her. The harsh rasp of stubble as it abraded tender flesh, raising goosebumps all over her body. Giving herself over to the sensation, Lorelai whimpered softly as she felt her muscles tensing and coiling. She grasped Alex's back, digging her nails in to urge him on, as she cried softly, "Luke!"

Alex froze instantly, lifting his head to look down at her. Lorelai's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand. "What?" he asked breathlessly.

Lorelai kept her hand clamped to her mouth as her stomach lurched. She pressed at his shoulder with the heel of her other hand and mumbled a muffled, "Puke!" through her fingers.

Alex moved quickly off of her as Lorelai scrambled from the bed and ran for the bathroom. She emptied the results of too many cosmopolitans into the toilet, and gasped for air as she tried to calm her roiling stomach. "Are you okay?" Alex asked, hovering in the doorway stark naked.

Lorelai glanced back at him and nodded as she gulped down breath after breath. She waved a hand at her body and asked, "Shirt? Please?" When Alex went to find her something to put on, Lorelai flushed the toilet and pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead as she muttered, "Blew it on the dismount, Gilmore."

XXXX

Nicole slid her leg over Luke's and whispered, "Now I know why you were in such a hurry to get home."

Luke chuckled nervously and glanced down at their naked bodies. "Uh, I need to, um, get up for a sec," he said gruffly.

Nodding her understanding, Nicole rolled over onto the other pillow as Luke pushed himself up from the bed and hurried to the adjoining bathroom. He closed the door and flipped on the light, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to adjust to the sudden brightness. He blinked and caught his reflection in the mirror, grimacing as he saw the angry red welts her nails had made as they scraped his back. Luke exhaled his disgust and quickly tried to get himself under control. He dropped the condom into the toilet, and flushed it before he sat down heavily on the seat and buried his face in his hands. _I_ _wish she'd slapped me,_ he thought wretchedly. _She should have._ "Oh God," he groaned softly as he raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in tufts. _What the hell did I do?_ he wondered. Luke glanced over at the door and sighed as wondered what he was going to do now. Instead of scaring her off, his ardor only seemed to excite her, he realized. With a derisive snort, Luke wondered idly how he was ever going be able to repeat that particular performance. He stood up and turned on the taps, letting the cool water run over his hands before washing them thoroughly. He splashed cold water on his face and blinked away the drops as he finally met his own gaze in the mirror. _Poor Nicole, _he thought sadly. _She's in for a big disappointment._

Luke turned out the light before opening the door. As his eyes adjusted to the dim bedroom again, he saw that she had straightened the sheets and pulled the duvet neatly up over them. She ran her hand invitingly over the spot beside her as she looked up at him and asked, "Can you stay?"

Luke swallowed thickly and answered only, "Jess." Nicole nodded as he pulled on his underwear and then sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"I understand, Luke," she said with an easy smile. "And, I do have an early morning," she said teasingly.

"I hate to…" he said as he gestured to her, the lie dying on his tongue.

Nicole smiled tenderly and asked, "Are you going to call me tomorrow? Or today, I should say."

Luke nodded quickly, knowing that he couldn't do anything else. "Yeah," he said quietly.

Nicole propped herself up on her elbow and asked, "Give me the reverse striptease? We were in a bit of a frenzy there," she said lightly.

Luke chuckled self consciously and said, "Sorry about that too."

Nicole shook her head as she gave him a feline smile and said, "Oh no. Don't be sorry about that."

"I'd better," Luke said as he gestured to the clothing scattered all over the floor.

He dressed quickly, and then bent down, placing a soft kiss on her lips before he said, "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Today," she corrected.

"Today," he answered with a nod. He gave her another chaste kiss and then walked to the door. As he stood in the doorway, he looked back at her, rumpled and satisfied in her big bed, and gave her a small wave before pulling the door closed behind him and hurrying from the apartment.

When he got home, Luke trudged tiredly through the darkened diner and up the stairs to the apartment. He stood in the kitchen area, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light from the streetlights and blew out a relieved sigh as he saw Jess' form curled up on his bed. He felt a sharp stab of guilt for not being home to check on Rory and Jess. For not making sure that nothing like what happened to Nicole that night happened to her. He walked over to his bed and sat down on it, the old twin mattress sagging under the heavy weight he carried with him to his bed. He rubbed his hand over his face, feeling the rasp of the stubble that was already poking through, and then turned to look at the window. "That was not what I needed," he murmured as he stared into the inky, moonless night.


	5. Facing the Big One

**Facing the Big One**

_**Face Off**_

Okay, so admittedly she had never been very good at the whole relationship thing, but even Lorelai Gilmore knew that when you called out another man's name at a crucial moment, and then you proceed to try to cover by puking your guts up, you shouldn't be so shocked when the phone calls get fewer and farther between. In actuality, until last night, she hadn't heard from Alex once since that fateful trip to New York, that is, until she had run into him purely by accident at Target. The result of that not so pleasant surprise was that he felt duty bound to ask her out to a movie for Friday night, and she felt compelled to accept on behalf of her guilty conscience.

She tried to put it out of her mind, trying not to dwell on what was possibly the most awkward evening of her entire life, and to focus her attentions on Rory's infinitely easier to deal with man problems as they made their way to Luke's for breakfast that morning. _Luke._ Lorelai sighed softly as Rory recited her activities from the previous evening, and her thoughts drifted away. No matter how highly developed her denial skills were; Lorelai had to conclude that Alex had indeed heard her correctly that night. And even though her ability to keep up the pretense was admirable, she also knew that last night was probably the last time she would see him. _Luke._ She had been thinking about Luke. Wanting Luke. The whole situation made her feel queasy all over again. She felt dirty, and not in a delightfully naughty way. You aren't supposed to lust after your friends. You aren't supposed to wish they would kiss you on crisp moonlit nights. You aren't supposed to dream up a hundred and one quick ways to inflict bodily harm on their significant other. And you really, really weren't supposed to fantasize that your friend was making love to you while another man actually was.

Worse yet, was the fact that Luke somehow seemed to sense that something was going on. He had been even more quiet and uncommunicative than usual for the last week. There had been little or no chit chat, there was absolutely no snarky bantering, and definitely none of their usual shameless flirting, she realized. _It's like he knows,_ she thought miserably. She really didn't want him to know. It was too mortifying. Logically, she knew that there was no way that he could know-know, unless he had excellent mind reading skills, because Lorelai had not whispered the slightest word about what had happened with Alex to anyone, not even Sookie. No, that particular exercise in humiliation was one that she would gladly carry to her grave. Judging by his demeanor, Alex knew, and that in itself was bad enough.

No, she must just be giving off some kind of vibe that Luke was picking up on. Knowing Luke's hatred of all things vibe-ish, she shouldn't be surprised that he felt the need to distance himself from her. She didn't blame him, she would have gladly sewn the letter 'A' onto her shirt herself if she thought that it might take a little of the crushing guilt away. She felt horrible. She felt confused and she felt stupid, but most of all, she felt sad. She was sad that she had hurt Alex when he had been nothing but sweet to her. Sad because she was vibing her friend and it was obviously freaking him out. She was sad because she missed him, and even sadder because he probably wasn't missing her. He had other fish to fry. Particularly, one scrawny cold fish that had stared at Lorelai with the beady eye and wrinkled her nose as if she were the one two days past fresh. But at that moment, the saddest turn of events of all was that Lorelai Gilmore realized she had just spent the last half block of their walk defending Jess Mariano to her daughter

Of course, whatever logic she employed and whatever empathy she may have felt for Jess evaporated the moment they walked into the diner and he proved without a shadow of a doubt how clueless he really was. She led an incensed Rory to the table he had pointed out for them, and as they settled into their chairs, Luke appeared from behind her and said, "Finally, two people who don't give a damn about hockey."

Lorelai smiled, welcoming the return of her favorite cranky diner owner's impending commentary with an appreciative, "Oh, someone's testy."

"Well, just look at these dippy people with their buttons and their pennants. You'd think the town had never been in a semi-regional playoff before," Luke said derisively as he glared at the Minutemen attired crowd.

Rory frowned as she looked up at him and asked, "But hasn't it been like forty years?"

Luke nodded and said, "Yeah, for the hockey team, yeah." His righteous indignation boiled over as he told them, "But back when I was on the track team, we went to state three times in four years and won it twice. Think they made buttons and put up banners? They couldn't care less," he scoffed.

Lorelai had a hard time smothering her smile as she turned to look up at him soberly and said, "Well, Luke, that's because track is for dorks."

Rory nodded and told him earnestly, "Yeah, it's true. I'm sorry."

Luke rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Okay, the conversing part of this morning is now over. What do you want?" he asked querulously.

"Jack omelet, bacon on the side," Lorelai replied pertly.

"Three blueberry and two lemon poppy seed muffins to go. Lane's band is rehearsing at my house. I wanted to bring them something," Rory explained.

"You got that, Jess?" Luke called back over his shoulder.

"Yep," Jess replied as he dropped muffins into a bag.

Luke gave Lorelai a slight nod and said, "Be right back."

"Five muffins to go," Jess said as he proudly presented the bag to Rory.

"Thank you," she said shortly. "I'll see you later," she called to Lorelai as she spun on her heel and headed for the door.

"What was that? You guys in a fight or something?" Jess asked.

Lorelai shook her head at his complete oblivion and promptly informed Jess that he was the one who was in the fight with Rory. She grilled him a little, just to watch him squirm, but eventually, he gave up his attempts at self defense and headed for the safety and security of the stock room. The weekend breakfast crowd was thinning as she watched Luke ring up customer after customer at the antique cash register. She did her best to be covert with her inspection, but she was sure that Luke had caught her at least once. Unwilling to give him even more reason to avoid talking to her, Lorelai snagged a menu that had been left on a nearby table, pulled a pen from her purse, and began doodling her name in a little design near the 'Sandwiches' section.

XXXX

_It's like she knows,_ Luke thought as he ducked his head, avoiding her gaze. _She knows what a horse's ass I am. She knows that I'm scum, _he reasoned. At first, he told himself that he was imagining it. He told himself that she wasn't watching him, that her eyes didn't follow him around the diner, and that he didn't see the faintest cloud of disappointment in their bright blue. But now, he knew that he wasn't imagining it. Every time she came in, she homed in on him like a heat seeking missile. He just knew that she was waiting for him to blow his cover and confess all. He knew that she knew him well enough to know that something was wrong. And something was very, very wrong. But, he had made the decision. It was his own fault that he was in it. He should have never have let it get that far. He was stuck, and it was his own fault.

As it was, he knew that he had lucked out this past week. Nicole had a case that had taken an unexpected turn, and was spending day and night working on it, much to Luke's relief. She called every evening to 'check in' and sometimes Luke managed to put aside his lingering remorse long enough, to have a pleasant conversation with her, talking about their days and all of the characters that shaped them. But now, the pleasure he once took in her dry deliveries was now tainted by regret. He wished that they could go back to where they were before that fateful theater date. He wished that they could throttle it back, and revert to just being two people who enjoyed each other's company. He wished he didn't feel like he was smothering under the heavy weight of expectation. He wished that he didn't feel like he had to be in this relationship, if for no other reason than to prove to himself that he wasn't as big of a horse's ass as he was afraid he was.

When the line in front of the register dwindled, Luke walked into the kitchen and found Caesar plating Lorelai's order. He grabbed the plate and stepped out of the kitchen, snagging the coffee pot on his way to deliver her breakfast. When he set the plate down in front of her, Lorelai jumped and then smiled sheepishly at being caught wool gathering. She cocked her head and looked up at him as he refilled her coffee mug and asked, "Can you sit down for a minute?"

"What? Why?" Luke asked, clearly taken aback by her question.

Lorelai shrugged as she looked up at him with guileless blue eyes and said, "I just never get to see you anymore."

"You see me every day," Luke answered defensively.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and said, "I know I see you, but we hardly get to talk anymore. Can't you take a break? Let Jess handle it for a minute?" she asked as she glanced around the nearly empty diner, half afraid that he was going to avoid again.

"Hang on," Luke said gruffly, as he turned coffee pot still in hand, and walked back to the store room. When he emerged, his hands were free, and Jess followed him out holding the pot as he scowled at his uncle's back and made a round of refills. Lorelai watched as Luke walked behind the counter, poured himself a glass of water, and then walked back over and joined her at her table.

Lorelai smiled as he sat down and then whispered, "You should have held onto the pot."

"I'd like to hold onto what little profit margin I make off this place," he answered as he placed his glass on the table and crossed his arms over his chest. "You wanted to talk?" he asked warily.

Lorelai shook her head as she cut into her omelet with her fork and said, "Not about anything specific, just catch up."

"Catch up," Luke repeated with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"How are you? What have you been doing?" Lorelai asked pointedly.

"I'm fine. I've been working," Luke answered with his usual economy of words.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she chewed, swallowed, and then took a sip of her coffee. "And Nicole? How's Nicole?" she asked leadingly.

"Nicole is fine. Busy," he answered cautiously.

"So, you're still seeing each other?" Lorelai asked as she kept her eyes on her plate.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Luke asked quickly.

Lorelai's head popped up as she said, "Uh, no reason. I was just asking."

"Actually, I haven't seen much of her lately. She's got this big case that she's been working on," Luke explained.

"Oh. That's too bad," Lorelai said as she continued to eat steadily, carefully keeping her relief from showing on her face.

"And your coffee guy? How's he?" Luke asked brusquely.

Lorelai smiled as she took another sip from her mug and said sweetly, "You're my coffee guy, you know that."

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "The fishing guy."

Lorelai grinned at him and said, "You're the fishing guy too."

"Alex," Luke grunted.

"Don't you wanna be my guy, Luke?" she asked teasingly, her eyes dancing as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. She smiled and shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Alex is fine. We saw a movie last night," figuring that he didn't need to know that they seemed to be on the wane.

Luke nodded and then looked away as he searched for something else to say. Finally, he mumbled, "Glad it's going well."

"It's okay," Lorelai hedged. "Things are going well with you and Nicole?" she asked, fishing for more information.

Luke shrugged and said, "Sure, I guess so."

Lorelai studied him carefully for a moment and then said, "You don't sound so sure."

"It's fine," he said dismissively.

"Uh oh," Lorelai murmured as she sat back in her chair. "You have that look in your eye," she said knowingly.

Luke stared at her incredulously and asked, "What look?"

"That someone moved my milk look," she said with a sad shake of her head. "Man, you really are the quintessential toxic bachelor, aren't you?" she said, softening her words with a chuckle.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luke demanded, irritated that she could read him so easily.

"Nothing," she said with a shrug. When he continued to stare at her, Lorelai smirked and said, "And Sookie thought I had a short attention span. You barely make it a month."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Luke said with a wave of his hand. "You aren't much better, anyway," he said with an edge to his voice.

"It's classic Luke," Lorelai continued. "Unless you have reason to be scared," she speculated. "I imagine that Nicole can be pretty forceful when she wants to, being an attorney and all. Has she cross examining you, trying to get you to crack? Presenting a writ of habeas ringus, and telling you what your babies will be named and figuring out if they should be hyphenated?" she persisted with a overly concerned frown.

"Has he proposed yet? Is it still daisies or is there another magical flower that will get you to say yes?" Luke shot back.

"What's the matter? Is she frigid, Luke?" she asked in a low voice. "Have you found the one redhead who isn't fiery?" she asked as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"I need to get back to work," he muttered as he moved to stand up. "Tell him not to count on the wedding actually happening," he said tersely as he turned and walked toward the kitchen.

As she watched him walk away, Lorelai smiled to herself, knowing that it was wrong to take so much pleasure in his displeasure, but unable to help herself. She smirked as she polished off her coffee, noting that he had seemed just a little bit jealous as he reminded her of the wedding that never happened. Normally, she would have been more than a little upset, but for some reason, his harsh words gave her a spark of hope. She gathered her purse and went up to the counter to pay. She waited patiently for him to reappear, but a moment later, Jess stepped out of the kitchen and sullenly snatched the ticket from her fingers. As he handed her the change from her twenty, Jess said, "I really did have to work."

"You really should learn how to use a phone," Lorelai said pointedly and turned to leave. The bells above the door jingled as she pulled it closed behind her, and then set out to start her day with a little more jaunt in her step, waiting for the inevitable to happen. She wondered idly if Nicole had any clue that Luke was already checking out.

_**The Big One**_

Lorelai's improved disposition lasted less than four days before it came crashing down again. When Luke had dropped newly printed menus onto the table she, Rory and Lane had chosen, it was a matter of moments before the changes to the menu were dissected. _Three salads! Who needs a choice of three more salads? Green and bland is green and bland. Dump some ranch on it and call it a day!_ her antihistamine addled mind ranted. _And the poor Count of Monte Cristo, having his sandwich unceremoniously dumped like that, _she raved as she walked to the inn, trying to cool down a little before she got to work. _And really, how hard is it to ladle some chili onto some Pringles?_ she asked herself. _Nicole. Stupid Nicole. Nicole gets whatever Nicole wants, _she sneered to herself. _Stupid disgusting salads, cell phones in the diner, evenings out with a clean shaven, freshly laundered Luke,_ she thought with gritted teeth. _Luke. She doesn't deserve a great guy like Luke. She's gonna want to change him. She already is, adding three more salads to the menu. He is menu whipped,_ she thought as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. _What could he possibly see in her? What does she want with him? They obviously have nothing in common. Unless it's purely physical,_ she thought, stopping in her tracks and shaking her head to dislodge the image her brain had conjured up. _No, that can't be it. She's so buttoned up, and Luke is, well, Luke,_ she told herself as she climbed the steps to front porch of the inn.

Lorelai took a deep breath and tried to force it all from her mind. She reminded herself that she was nothing if not a great compartmentalizer. _Why, oh why, does he have to have something good going every time my love life is non-existent?_ she wondered. _Why is it every time she thinks there might be something there, something or someone happens to get in the way? Why is it that the minute I meet a guy I think I could like, I have to go and blow it by obsessing on the one guy I can't have?_ she asked herself. With a resigned sigh, she opened the front door and stepped into the haven of the Independence Inn.

XXXX

_Girlfriend._ The minute the word came out of Rory's mouth, he jumped on it, instantly correcting her as he wished he could correct Nicole when she used it. _It sounded too young, _he reasoned. _Not what you would call a grown man and a grown woman who were just dating. _Not that they had been spending all that much time together. Nicole's schedule had room for only a quick dinner that week. They met in Litchfield and ate at a little Mexican restaurant, where Nicole had complained about the amount of grease that was served with their entrees. Their conversation revolved mainly around food, which was what led to a discussion about healthier food choices, and his desire to update his menus, which led to the addition of more salads. Luke didn't think much about it at the time, he just added the salads and ordered the new menus from the quick print place that would laminate and bind them for him, and that was that.

_Apparently, it was a statement,_ Luke thought to himself as he wiped down the counter. _Was adding something to his menu and indication of commitment?_ he wondered. Admittedly, after Lorelai had called him out on the whole short attention span thing, he had made more of an effort with Nicole. He told himself that there was no reason why two single adults couldn't spend time together. That there was no reason for him to regret taking their relationship to the physical level, although he still felt bad about how it had happened. He'd thought about it a lot, and realized that maybe Lorelai was right. Maybe he did jump ship too quickly. Maybe he should stick it out, see where it goes. _No,_ he told himself firmly, _he wasn't going to let the possibility of nothing cheat him out of the reality of something. Not again_.

XXXX

The week had passed quickly. Lorelai had been busy trying to plan a conference that was being held at the inn, and trying to keep her head from exploding. Her allergies were driving her straight up the wall. The only time she had felt genuinely good all week, was that moment when the puzzle pieces fell into place, and she realized that Sookie was pregnant. The joy was short lived, however, as she commiserated with her friend over Jackson's bizarre reaction to the news they had both been hoping for.

By the time she left to meet Rory at her parents for Friday night dinner, she was feeling completely wrung out. Or at least she had thought the wringing was complete, but then she ran into Max Medina at the pharmacy. Seeing him again threw her for a loop, and brought all of the memories of her own commitment confusion rushing back to her. Max had been gracious and friendly, not at all what she would have expected after the way that she had treated him.

The evening took an even more surrealistic turn when her father answered the door himself and announced that her mother would not be joining them for dinner due to a surfeit of strokes that had affected her DAR friends. After dinner, she went to Sookie's house and witnessed Jackson's prenatal meltdown first hand. She told her friend about all of the feelings that seeing Max again had stirred up, and vowed to write him a note to try to explain what had happened. If she could figure it out herself.

After working all day Saturday at the inn, Lorelai picked up a pizza on her way home, but was surprised when she walked in to hear Rory and Paris having a frank, if hesitant, discussion about Paris' decision to sleep with her boyfriend, Jamie. Lorelai turned to tiptoe out of the house, but stopped when she heard Paris interrogate Rory on her own activity. She couldn't help herself. She froze in place, her heart hammering as she waited for Rory's response, and then relief flooded through her as she heard Rory say exactly what every parent wanted to hear. She quickly stole back to the front door, and then announced her arrival in a sing song voice, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.

After they ate, the girls decided to work on combining their speeches at the kitchen table, and Lorelai left to go to the video store in search of something to keep herself quiet and out of the way. As she walked toward the square, she told herself that it was wrong to feel so jubilant. She knew that she shouldn't gloat, but she couldn't seem to help herself. She was smiling broadly as she passed the diner. A quick glance inside told her that Luke was alone save for the one table of customers in the corner. She hurried to the video store to make her selection, and decided to swing by Luke's to pick up some coffees to take home to the girls.

When she walked through the door, she smiled and said, "Hello, oh purveyor of all things blissful and caffeinated!"

"Hey," Luke answered with a jerk of his chin.

Lorelai set her bag of movies on the counter and said, "I need three of the hugest coffees in the world, to go. I'm livin' large tonight," she added with a wink.

"I am not giving you three cups of coffee," Luke said darkly.

"They're not all for me," she said as she held up her hands to ward off the rant. "Paris is over, she and Rory are working on their big speech for C-SPAN," she told him. "They need fuel."

Luke's face relaxed into a genuine smile of pride as he asked, "She got it?"

Lorelai nodded happily and said, "Well, she and Paris are going to divide and conquer, but yeah, my little girl is going to be on television. It's my fondest dream come true," she said with a huge grin. "Maybe she'll become famous, and she can get Mommy George Clooney's number," she said with a gasp.

"That's what every parent dreams of," Luke muttered as he turned to pour the coffee.

Lorelai leaned up on the counter and whispered, "I have to tell you something."

"Yes, I know that you loved that space movie he did," Luke said with a shake of his head.

"_Solaris_, and yes, I did," she freely admitted. "No, I have to congratulate you," she said with a nod.

Luke turned to look at her as he placed the lid on a to-go cup and asked, "Congratulate me for what?"

"Your ten minute plan is a huge success," she said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Luke asked, as he placed the cup on the counter and leaned forward so that he could hear her better.

Lorelai motioned for him to come a little closer still, and stood up to lean on the counter as she whispered in his ear, "Rory and Jess, they haven't, uh, you know."

"Huh?" he grunted.

Lorelai nodded as she leaned back in slightly and whispered, "I came home tonight, and I overheard Rory telling Paris that, um, nothing like that had happened between them."

Luke frowned as he quickly admonished her, "You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations." Lorelai waited a moment, knowing that what she had just told him hadn't sunk in. Luke's eyes widened slightly as he asked, "They haven't?"

"No," she confirmed.

"Thank God," Luke breathed as he pulled back slightly. When their eyes met, the two shared a smile of relief. Luke could see all of her hopes and dreams for her daughter shining brightly in her eyes. "She's a great girl," he said softly.

Lorelai's smile faltered slightly as she said, "I just want so much for her. I'm always so afraid that she'll be too much like me," she said with a wry smile.

Luke nodded, understanding what she was saying without actually saying it. Without thinking, Luke covered hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze as he said, "She is just like you. That why she's going to be just fine."

Lorelai turned her hand over, pressing her soft palm to his rough one as she held his hand tightly. She looked up at him and said sincerely, "Thank you, Luke."

"Anytime," he answered gruffly. "Anytime."

Lorelai looked down at her hand enveloped in his, and wished that she could keep it there forever. Luke followed her gaze, and reluctantly flexed his fingers as he said, "I'll get your coffee."

"Thanks," she said in a slightly hoarse voice.

Luke slowly stepped back and said, "Uh, grab some donuts if you want," as he nodded to the covered stand and placed a bag on the counter.

"Are you free Friday night?" Lorelai blurted.

"What?" Luke asked, his heart jumping up into his throat and pulsing madly.

"Would you want to go to Chilton with me to see Rory's speech?" she asked.

"Really?" he asked, his face lighting up, and then falling almost instantly. "Oh, I can't," he said in a genuinely disappointed tone. Luke reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "I promised Nicole I would go to this reception thing her firm is having."

"Oh," Lorelai said as she nodded and licked her lips nervously. She plastered a smile on her face tried to play it off by saying, "That's okay. At least there will probably be booze at your thing."

Luke smirked as he affixed the lid to another cup. "I'd rather go to Chilton with you," he answered honestly.

Lorelai flushed with pleasure as she busied herself with dropping donuts into the bag. "I'll tape it for you," she promised.

"Thanks," Luke answered as he placed all three cups into a carrying tray.

Lorelai dropped the bag of donuts into the video store bag and looped it over her wrist before reaching for the tray that he slid across the counter. "Goodnight, Luke," she said quietly.

"Goodnight. Tell Rory I said congratulations," he said with a nod, resting his hands on his hips as she turned to leave. When she opened the door, he called out, "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" she asked as she paused in the doorway.

Luke gave her a nod and said, "You've done a great job. Congratulations."

Lorelai nodded quickly, but for once didn't have the words as she smiled and pulled the door closed behind her.


	6. Fired Up

**Fired Up**

It was becoming an addiction. One of those harmless ones, like a TV show, or the CD you keep on repeat mode. She couldn't help herself. She needed to touch him. Ever since Saturday night, all her mind could focus on was the feeling of Luke's hand, large and strong, wrapped around hers. She could feel his rough palm against hers, his long fingers squeezing hers. All the way to Chilton last night she had thought of nothing else. Even while she was talking to Max, she couldn't stop comparing him physically to Luke. She couldn't help wondering how she had ever thought he could have been the only man she would ever want to touch again. And then later he had kissed her and said that he apparently wasn't over her, she couldn't wrap her head around it. It was all too much.

To top it all off, they arrived home after gluing Paris back together to find a bounty of big envelopes in the mailbox. Rory took the acceptances from Harvard, Yale and Princeton, as well as one from a backup for the backups, and immediately sat down at the kitchen table and opened each envelope reverently. She placed all three acceptance letters from the Ivy League schools aside, and began to look through the informational materials they had sent before running to her room to grab paper, a pen, and a ruler. After some intense discussion about how to properly set up the pro/con template for so many choices, Lorelai heeded Rory's glare and retreated to her room to begin making her own list. Unfortunately, the pros and cons were not feeling helpful in sorting out the mess she had made with Alex, and the whirlwind of emotions Max's kiss had stirred up. Instead the list devolved into a faithful charting of all of the moments, touches and hugs she could recall ever sharing with Luke. When she realized that the list was pointing to the one man who was not available, not an option, Lorelai quickly crumpled the sheet of paper and tossed it into the trash. She changed into her pajamas and walked back downstairs. Lorelai grabbed the remote before she flopped down onto the couch and flung her leg up over the back. She flipped through the channels without seeing them. No matter what had happened; no matter who else was involved, no matter what the home shopping network was hawking, all she could see was Luke.

XXXX

That night had been one of the longest in Luke's life. The reception he had attended at some swanky Hartford restaurant was a festival of self congratulations and preening brought on by their victory in some huge corporate case. Luke clutched his glass of disgusting imported beer and stood aside as he watched the room full of Brooks Brothers clad sharks circle. _They didn't look too dangerous,_ he observed. _They looked…short,_ he concluded. _Must be some manifestation of short man's syndrome that made them so vicious in the courtroom,_ he thought with a smirk as he took another sip of the bitter beer. A moment later, Nicole appeared at his side, holding her glass of white wine in one hand while the other hand was wrapped around the arm of a man Luke had seen her talking with in whispers as soon as she had abandoned him to make the rounds.

"Luke, this is Evan, he's one of the junior partners too," she said by way of introduction. "Evan, this is Luke Danes. Luke, like you, has the grave misfortune to also be a Red Sox fan," she told Evan solemnly.

Luke shook the other man's hand with a nod of acknowledgement as Evan asked, "Does she trash talk you too?"

Luke shrugged and said, "Well, she's just twisted enough to be a Yankees fan, so what are you gonna do?"

Evan smiled as he said, "I think she's going to have to change her tune in a year or two, we have a good looking roster building."

"That we do," Luke said as he took another sip of his beer.

"Evan has just started working with me on the case. He's found a precedent that we hadn't thought of before, and we think it might help get the whole thing thrown out," she said as she beamed up at the other man.

"Wow, good for you," Luke said gruffly.

"Yes," Nicole said with a nod. "I don't know why we haven't worked together much until now. Evan has a way of looking at things from a different angle that seems to have been just what I needed," she said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well, you had better start updating your backlog to be sure you have some billables to fall back on come Monday, otherwise the Steins will be coming after you," Evan answered with a smug smile.

"Oh, I do," Nicole assured him. She nudged Luke slightly with her elbow and said, "I am looking forward to having a little more free time, though."

When Luke murmured some vague response, he felt Nicole reach down and give his hand a surreptitious squeeze as she looked around the room innocently. His mind kicked into overdrive as her thin fingers wrapped around his. He couldn't help comparing the feel of her hand to Lorelai's, and finding that there was no comparison. The feeling of Lorelai's soft palm pressed against his was electric. And although her hands were fluid and feminine, like Nicole's, there was strength in them that he found irresistible. They were capable hands. Capable of hard work. Capable of speaking all on their own when she was excited. Capable of raising a daughter, and doing everything in her power to make sure that that daughter had every opportunity that a parent could dream of. Capable of making a man's heart race at the very thought of her touching him, stroking him, holding him.

As Nicole and Evan segued into talk of other pending cases, Luke's mind drifted away. He could picture Rory standing at a podium, pretty and poised, as she battled the nerves he knew she must be feeling. He could hear her speaking to the audience in that 'I'm not really confident, but you don't need to know that' tone that she had learned from her mother. He could imagine the pride emanating from Lorelai's every pore as she watched Rory wow the world with her brilliant mind, and her shy smile. Luke wished more than anything that he was sitting with her right now. He wished more than anything that he was with Lorelai, and not Nicole, but as Evan moved off to talk to someone else, Luke came back to Earth only to find that it was Nicole smiling up at him.

XXXX

"I couldn't help it, I got frustrated, it was too much," Rory said as she smoothed her hand over the hastily drawn sheet of paper that had replaced the third draft of her pro/con list.

'The lines are crooked, the printing's all sloppy. Harvard, Princeton and Yale cannot see them looking like that," Lorelai said as she shook her head sadly.

Rory rolled her eyes and said, "They're not going to see our pro/con lists."

Lorelai spotted Luke, the lawyer lover, moving around behind the counter and asked, "What if they subpoena them?"

"Then I'll roll 'em up in a ball and eat 'em," Rory answered quickly, hoping to put an end to her mother's tangent.

Lorelai started looking through the information packets that each school had sent, and to Rory's dismay, began reading off esoteric items for her to put on the lists. "Write 'Princeton's stinking filthy' in big letters," she commanded.

Rory nodded and muttered, "Yeah, I'm pretending to write it as we speak."

They paused to give Kirk their attention as he tried to sell them a t-shirt the read 'Babette ate oatmeal,' but were saved from having to turn him down when Luke appeared and scared Kirk away from the table. He looked down at the pile of brochures on the table and frowned as he asked, "What's with the lists?"

Lorelai turned in her seat as she smiled up at him and asked, "You ready? My Rory, our Rory, Stars Hollow's Rory…" she paused for dramatic effect. When Luke simply stared at her with raised eyebrows, she pronounced proudly, "Got into Harvard, Princeton, and Yale!"

Luke's face melted into a proud smile of his own as he said in what passed for an excited tone for him, "Wow, wow, wow, I can't believe it. I – I feel like I…"

"Yeah," Rory said as she smiled modestly. Without warning, Luke reached out and hugged Rory's head awkwardly. "Oh!" she said in a shocked tone.

"Oh," Lorelai echoed as she watched in awe.

"Okay," Rory said as she gave into the affectionate impulse from their favorite diner man.

"Wow," Lorelai murmured.

When Luke released her he said sheepishly, "Oh, I'm not good at hugging."

Rory smiled, understanding too well how awkward Luke felt. "Oh, I thought it worked," she told him.

"Thanks," Luke said gruffly. He couldn't suppress his smile as he said, "Man, this is big, right?"

"Very big," Rory confirmed.

Luke's smile turned to a frown as he looked down at the table and asked, "But what's with all the pro/con lists?"

Lorelai shrugged as she said, "That's how we make our important decisions, you know that."

Luke rolled is eyes and said, "But you know what it's gonna be. Harvard."

"Probably," Rory conceded.

"But not necessarily," Lorelai said firmly.

"But Harvard's all you've talked about for years," Luke pointed out with a perplexed frown.

Lorelai held her hands out palms up and gestured to the brochures as she said, "Well, who knew she'd be wanted by everyone?"

Luke sighed and gestured to the pile as he asked, "Hey, which school best teaches how to make an important life decision without doing a stupid pro/con list? Whichever one it is, add it to the pro column," he told them gruffly.

"Do not mock the sciencificity of our selection process," Lorelai told him sternly.

Rory quickly began to gather her belongings as she said, "I've gotta head to school."

After she left, Luke looked down at Lorelai with a proud smile and said, "I can't believe how great that is, all three."

Lorelai preened a little, reveling in their shared pride and said, "Well, they have good taste."

Almost shyly, Luke told her that he had found out that Jess had been named the Employee of the Month by the Wal-Mart store that he worked at part-time. Lorelai quickly assured him that is was something to be proud of, pointed out that it was a testament to Jess' hard work, and encouraged Luke to attend the meeting where Jess would be presented with his plaque. Luke sat down in the chair at Rory had abandoned and said, "I know it's not as big of a deal as Rory's thing, but I can't help feeling like it's a big step for him, you know? That maybe this might make him do better, try harder," he admitted.

"Positive reinforcement," Lorelai agreed with a nod.

"Yeah," Luke said quietly as they fell into a comfortable silence. Finally, Luke looked up at her and said, "Hey, you didn't tell me how the speech thing went. I wish I could have been there," he said with a sad shake of his head.

Lorelai laughed and said, "Oh no, you don't." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she recalled the embarrassing meltdown Paris had for all of C-SPAN to see, and thanked God that no one actually watched that channel. "Things didn't go as planned," she said finally.

"Oh? It was bad?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Well, not really for Rory, but, um, Paris kind of came unglued," she said with a wry smile.

"Man, poor kid. That must have been embarrassing," Luke muttered.

"You have no idea," Lorelai said gravely. "It was a very eventful night," she told him.

"Yeah? Well, I wondered when you guys didn't come in yesterday," he said with a concerned frown.

"Well, we both had a lot to think about, so we just kind of holed up and hung out at the house," Lorelai told him.

"I guess so, what with the schools and all," Luke answered with a nod.

"I ran into Max Medina," Lorelai blurted.

Luke sat back and blinked in surprise as he asked blankly, "The teacher?"

"Yes, Max the teacher, Max my ex-fiancée, you remember Max, the one I bailed on at the last minute," Lorelai said impatiently.

"Uh, wow. How was that?" Luke asked cautiously.

"How do you think it was?" she snapped, miffed by his lack of reaction.

"Um, weird?" Luke said hesitantly.

"It was only weird when I talked to him, it ratcheted up to bizarre when he kissed me between the coat racks," Lorelai said bluntly, trying to get a rise out of him.

"You kissed him?" Luke asked incredulously as the frustration bubbled up inside of him.

"He kissed me," she corrected.

"What about the fishing guy?" Luke demanded. "Did he know that you're seeing someone? Did you even remember that?" Luke asked snidely.

"I'm not seeing Alex anymore," Lorelai said defensively.

Luke's jaw dropped for a moment and then he said, "Man, you are a piece of work, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lorelai asked in a wounded tone. She had expected maybe a little jealousy, but she didn't expect his derision.

"You're like a tornado, no wait, a hurricane," Luke spat as he stood up. "What now? You gonna see what other damage you can do to the teacher now? Dumping him just before the wedding wasn't enough?"

"You're saying I'm a natural disaster?" Lorelai asked indignantly.

"The path of destruction you leave is awe inspiring," Luke said as he shook his head condemningly.

"Hey, I didn't ask him to kiss me. I didn't want him to kiss me. He kissed me, Luke," she hissed as she gathered her purse and stood up too. "You're supposed to be my friend," she pointed out, literally jabbing a finger at him. "You're supposed to be worried about me, and what I might be feeling, not Max."

Luke immediately said, "Lorelai, I…"

"No, Luke, I guess I know what you think about me," she said as she held up her hand to stop him. "Woe to the poor man who steps into her path. Watch out, buddy!" she said, trying to force down the tears that threatened to choke her. "Aren't you glad you're immune to me? Shouldn't you feel smug and superior, knowing that I never sank my claws into you?" she asked snidely as she turned to leave. When she reached the door, she turned back to him and said in a calmer tone, "Aren't you the lucky guy."

"No!" Luke said adamantly. "No, you know I don't think that about you," he said, lowering his voice as he followed her to the door. He glanced back at the occupants of the diner nervously and said, "Come here," as he stepped outside and walked down to the sidewalk. When she hesitated in the doorway, Luke looked up at her and said, "Lorelai, please."

Lorelai pulled the door closed and crossed her arms over her chest defensively as she walked down the steps and stood in front of him, tilting her chin up and meeting his gaze defiantly.

"I'm sorry," he said gruffly as he ran his hand over his face. Luke winced a little as he adjusted his baseball cap and said, "I thought that you were telling me that you dumped Alex for Max. I thought that you were telling me that you were starting things up again with Max," he said with a small shrug.

"What do you care?" she asked defensively.

"I care," he said quickly.

"Why? Why do you care?" Lorelai asked, searching his face for the answer.

"I just care," he said quietly.

Lorelai shrugged and said, "Makes no difference to you, right? Why should you care?"

"Because I care. I don't want you to be with Max. He didn't make you happy. I care about you," he said, his frustration building again.

"Because we're friends, right?" Lorelai asked pointedly.

"Right," he confirmed. "And I, I want…" he began to say, as he reached out to grip her arm, but was interrupted by the sound of the bells jingling. He looked up to see Caesar's panicked face hovering in the doorway and snapped, "What?"

"Um, Boss, there's a small fire…" Caesar said hesitantly.

"Fire?" Lorelai gasped.

"Just a small grease fire," Caesar said quickly.

"Did you cover it?" Luke asked him.

"I tried, but it's just a tad bit bigger than the lid," Caesar said with a grimace, holding his fingers an inch apart.

Luke started for the steps and said, "I have to go."

"Go," Lorelai said as she shooed him away.

Luke paused in the doorway and looked back at her as he asked worriedly, "Are we okay?"

Lorelai nodded and said, "We're okay, but your diner isn't going to be in a minute."

Luke nodded as he closed the door and hurried into the kitchen. Lorelai stood on the sidewalk for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. Trying to figure out how it had turned into a fight. Trying to figure out what Luke was about to tell her.

XXXX

Fire. It seemed to be following her. _It's probably a good thing that I'm not sleeping at the house, because apparently, I'm a fire starter,_ she told herself as she trudged through town clutching her pillow. She had called Rory, and her daughter innocently suggested that she go to Luke's to sleep. _Luke's,_ Lorelai thought as she gazed up at the windows above the diner. She glanced around at the deserted square, and realized that Luke's apartment was probably her best option. Walked up to the diner door and pounded on the glass, calling for him. When she got no response, Lorelai backed into the street and yelled, "Luke! Luke! Stella!" up at his apartment. When he failed to appear, she bent down, picked up a small rock from the curb, and hurled it as hard as she could at his window. After Luke finally appeared, and they had a shouted conversation that roused even the hard of hearing Mrs. Slutsky, Luke came down and let her in.

After shaming him into letting her take his bed, and arguing about the best way to tuck the clean sheets in, Luke made up a bed on the couch while Lorelai tried to explain how she was feeling kind of exhilarated and proud of how she had handled the crisis. When he told her that he also felt that she had handled things well, Lorelai flushed with pleasure. The phone rang, and Luke hurried to answer it. He shifted uncomfortably as he greeted Nicole and quickly told her about the fire at the Independence Inn. Lorelai listened, her heart sinking a little as he asked about Nicole's day and confirmed the time for what was apparently another date the following night.

When he hung up, Luke said, "That was Nicole."

Lorelai nodded and said, "So I heard." She watched as Luke went to the refrigerator and asked, "Why didn't you tell her I was here?"

"Didn't come up," Luke answered as he opened the door and pulled out a pitcher of chilled water.

"You mean, she didn't out of the clear blue and for no reason ask you if I was sleeping over?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

Luke shrugged as he took two mugs from the rack and said, "Just didn't seem necessary."

Lorelai glanced down at her crossed legs as she perched on the edge of his bed and said, "Well, you have nothing to hide here. You just took in a refugee."

"I know there's nothing to hide," Luke said as he poured water into the mugs. "It's just that, you've kinda become a…" he trailed off as he carried the mugs to her.

"Become what?" she asked.

Luke winced and said, "A sore point with me and Nicole," as he handed one of the mugs to her.

"What, how?" Lorelai asked quickly, trying to keep the happy dance she was doing on the inside under wraps.

Luke walked over to the couch and said, "Well, on our first date, I was a little nervous and I wasn't having any luck coming up with topics, so I was just kinda blabbing a lot. And then she ordered extra fries at dinner, so it reminded me of you and I told her a quick story about you and French fries, and that seemed fine," he explained. "And then later, she ordered a third cup of coffee…" he let the sentence trail away with a meaningful look.

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai said, groaning as she felt his pain.

Luke nodded and said, "And I mentioned you and your coffee thing, and I noticed that Nicole kind of reacted a little," he told her as he held up a finger and gestured to his face. "And ever since then, she's been a little sensitive to the issue," he said with an oblivious shrug.

"Well, of course she is, Luke. You don't talk about another woman on a first date," Lorelai pointed out.

Luke looked over at her and asked, "Even if it's just a friend?"

"They don't exist," she told him.

"Come on," Luke scoffed.

"Not on a first date," she said plainly.

Luke sat down on the couch and tried to clarify, "No other women exist on a first date, not even my mother?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Do you really think talking about your mother on a first date is wise?"

"Not really," Luke muttered.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "You can maybe mention a sister, maybe. And then you move on really, really quickly," she instructed.

"This is why I hate dating," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai shrugged and said, "Well, unless you wanna be Mountain Man all your life, you've got to abide by the rules and customs." She tried to smother her smug smile as she pushed herself back onto the bed. "Ooh, sorry, I have to get up super early tomorrow," she said as she slid her feet under the blankets.

"No problem. What time?" Luke asked as he reached for the alarm clock.

Lorelai thought for a moment and then said, "Six."

Luke smirked as he showed her the clock and said, "I get up at quarter to five every morning."

Lorelai looked at him incredulously and asked, "Why in the world would you get up that early?"

"I don't know, to run my business?" he asked in a snarky tone.

"Well, change businesses," she said with a shudder as she fell back onto the pillow. "Ooh, wow, total déjà vu," she blurted.

"Really?" Luke asked with a curious smile.

"It's the alarm clock," she told him. "I had a dream once that you set eighteen alarm clocks to get me up, which is not a bad way to get me up," she pointed out.

"Where were we?" he asked as he raised his arms up to tuck them under his head.

Lorelai searched her memory said, "We were, um, at my house. I got up, I went downstairs for coffee, and you talked to my stomach."

Luke frowned as he asked, "Why on earth I do that?"

Lorelai smiled nervously as the rest of the dream came flooding back to her. "Well, because I was pregnant," she said, unable to hide the dreamy smile that curved her lips. Luke's eyes widened in surprise at the development, but Lorelai didn't notice as she added, "Twins."

"Mine?" Luke asked in a shocked tone.

Lorelai shrugged a little as she stared up at the ceiling, not daring to look at him as she said, "What am I, dream tramp? Of course yours."

Luke couldn't hide his disbelief as he asked, "We were married?"

"Um, yeah. Did I not mention that?" she asked uncomfortably.

"No," he answered softly as he looked over at her. He saw the soft smile on her face, and for a moment it took his breath away. Unsure of what to say or do, Luke rolled over onto his side, cradling his head on his arm as he said, "You know, you shouldn't drink coffee when you're pregnant."

Lorelai smiled as he shifted the conversation back into territory he felt more at home in and said, "Uh, true."

"It's probably why Rory's a caffeine addict," he added.

"Right, you're right," she admitted, her thoughts still a million miles away.

"Dream go beyond that?" Luke asked in a soft raspy voice.

Lorelai smiled as she said, "No. Um, you talked to my stomach and then you ki. . .well, no."

Luke stared over at her, a cocky smile twitching at his lips as he filled in the blanks for what she had left unsaid. "Oh, okay," he said quietly. "Well, night," he added as he gazed over at her.

Lorelai stared up at the ceiling for a moment before glancing at him and whispering, "Yeah, night."

Lorelai slept, or didn't sleep, fitfully. The events of the day and evening kept playing over and over again in her mind. She heard Jess come home and fall almost immediately into his bed, and soon after the apartment was filled with a symphony of snores. Lorelai tried sandwiching her head between two pillows, but the noise was pervasive, grating on her very last nerve. She finally gave up, tossing the top pillow aside as she sat up and glared at Luke. She scooted off of the bed and padded to the apartment door. She stepped into the hallway and tried to close it softly behind her, but the latch caught loudly. With a grimace, Lorelai turned and felt her way down the darkened stairway, pushed through the curtain, and into the diner lit by the streetlamps that lined the square. She hugged herself tightly as she walked over to the window and stared out into the still night for a few minutes. She turned her head and spotted the coffee machine out of the corner of her eye. Silently, she walked over to it and rummaged in the dim light for a fresh filter. She placed it in the basket, poured grounds into it, and fitted it into the machine. She then flipped the switch to turn it on and pressed the button to start the flow of hot water.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked in a sleep hoarse voice.

Lorelai turned to see him standing just inside of the curtain, his short hair mussed, his sweats rumpled as he scratched his side tiredly. "I can't sleep," she whispered.

Luke nodded to the coffee machine and asked, "You think that's gonna help?"

"May not help some people, but it helps me," she said in a slightly defensive tone as she ducked her head and averted her eyes.

Luke walked over to her and stared down at her in the soft glow from the street beyond. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Lorelai slowly raised her eyes, taking in the expanse of his chest under the soft thermal knit shirt. She saw the broad muscular shoulders that she had cried on literally and figuratively for so many years. She saw the dark blue eyes that looked at her with such genuine care and concern that it made her heart ache. She opened her mouth to say that she was fine, but instead, all that came out was a strangled sob.

Luke quickly gathered her into his arms with a soft, "Hey, hey. Don't do that," he whispered as she pressed her face into his chest and began to cry. He smoothed his hand over her back as each sob wracked her body, making her tremble against him, and shaking him to his core. "Lorelai, its gonna be okay," he said softly as he ran his hand over her hair, smoothing it into place.

"What am I going to do?" she asked in a choked voice.

"Everything is going to be fine," he assured her.

"What if the inn can't reopen? Where am I going to go? What am I going to do? And Rory. What about Yale?" she sobbed plaintively.

"Yale?" Luke asked in a bewildered tone. As she cried even harder, Luke shook his head to clear it and said, "You don't need to worry about that. We don't know anything yet," he reminded her. "You don't need to worry about a thing. We'll figure it out. Everything will be fine, I promise." He tightened his arms around her pulling her closer still as he said softly, "Shh. Everything is going to be okay."

"Luke," she whispered, her warm breath rushing through the soft cotton of his shirt as she held him tighter still.

"Shh," he murmured, trying not to notice how perfectly she fit with him. Trying not to kiss her tears away. Trying to keep his body from reacting to the soft curves molding to his body. "We'll make sure everything is okay," he said in a hoarse voice as her hands clutched at his back, twisting his shirt in her fingers. He could have sworn that she brushed her lips over his collarbone, kissing him through the soft fabric, and his breath caught in his chest.

Lorelai lifted her head as she took a deep breath and looked up at him, yearning for him to kiss her, aching to stay wrapped in the safety of his arms. "Okay," she said as she sniffled softly and tilted her head back, raising her lips in blatant invitation.

Luke stared at her, his mouth falling open slightly as he reached up to touch her cheek gently. He swallowed hard, knowing that shouldn't take what was being offered to him, knowing that he couldn't, not until he was free. "You trust me?" he asked in a throaty voice.

"Absolutely," she answered honestly as she looked him straight in the eye.

Luke nodded almost imperceptibly and said with quiet conviction, "I'm gonna make sure it's all okay," before giving her a soft, chaste kiss on her damp cheek.

Lorelai ducked her head and stepped back quickly, her face flaming with humiliation as her hands slid around to push on his chest slightly. "Uh, wow, that was inappropriate, wasn't it?" she asked with a bitter laugh.

"Lorelai, no," Luke started to say.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "No, I'm sorry." She glanced nervously around the darkened diner and said, "I'm gonna go," as she stepped away from the temptation of him.

"Where? Where are you going to go?" Luke asked in a panicked voice as he stepped toward her. "You don't even have any shoes on," he said incredulously as he nodded to her socked feet.

This time Lorelai held up a hand to ward him off as she shook her head harder and backed toward the door. "I'm going to Sookie's. I'll crash out on the floor," she said, an edge of hysteria coloring her voice.

"Lorelai, come on, let's talk about this," Luke said as he approached her cautiously.

"No, Luke, we'll never talk about this. You don't have to worry about that," she promised. She laughed nervously and babbled, "Sookie should probably keep Jackson locked up in the bedroom, though. You were right," she said as she fumbled with the lock on the diner door. "No man is safe," she said as she yanked it open and then fled into the night.


	7. Birthday Wishes

**Birthday Wishes**

Luke watched Taylor and Nicole warily. When Nicole called and said that she had to meet with Taylor to go over some papers, and that she wanted to do it at the diner, Luke had no reason to say no. That is, other than the fact that he had been avoiding her ever since the night Lorelai had spent at his apartment. A convenient sore throat had kept him from keeping their date the next night, and also provided an excuse to minimize phone time. He had also shared with her his suspicions concerning Jess, reiterating his need to stick close to Stars Hollow in an effort to keep better tabs on his headstrong nephew. So while he had been avoiding Nicole, in his mind, Luke had least come up with what he considered plausible excuses. He just didn't count on Nicole coming to Stars Hollow to spend time with him. How do you break up with someone who has done absolutely nothing wrong? _It's not you, it's me,_ he thought, a derisive snort escaping him. It was true, it wasn't her. She couldn't help the fact that she wasn't Lorelai. And, he couldn't help the way he felt about Lorelai. Truth be told, sometimes he wished he could.

Yes, he was avoiding Nicole, and Lorelai had been avoiding him. All in all, it was a huge mess. The fact that he hadn't laid eyes on Lorelai since she blew in here the morning after, and hid behind Sookie and Rory the whole time was wearing on his nerves. The minute Chief Baker called, Lorelai was gone without a word, and Luke was beginning to think that maybe he had dreamed the whole thing. But he knew he hadn't. _It had happened, damn it, _he thought with a scowl. Of course, it had happened at a time when she was feeling scared and vulnerable, and his were the arms wrapped around her. It had happened at a time when she needed warmth and comfort, and his was the nearest body pressed against hers. _Babette is right, it's all about location,_ Luke thought as he grabbed the coffee pot and approached the table where Taylor and Nicole sat discussing candy contracts. _I want more than to be the closest available option,_ he told himself sternly.

After chiming in with his commentary on Taylor's legal needs and effectively driving his annoying tenant away, Nicole stared up at him, and Luke shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. He smiled nervously and asked, "So, listen, after I dispose of Taylor's body, are we hitting a movie tonight?"

Nicole nodded and said, "Yeah, we are."

"Okay," Luke said with a quick smile, wondering if she could read his mind just by staring at him so intently.

"Uh, Luke, could you sit for a second, please?" Nicole asked a little too calmly as she gestured to the chair Taylor had just vacated.

Luke's heart sped up as he wondered if this was the confrontation he had been both fearing and hoping for. "I could," he said slowly as he tried to get a read on her, but she had her lawyer face on, so he was having no luck.

"Could you do it soon?" Nicole persisted.

Luke looked down at her warily and asked, "Okay, listen, if I sit down, are we gonna have the conversation?"

"The conversation?" she asked blankly.

Luke nodded slowly, wondering if he was ready for this, knowing that the end was going to have to come eventually, but still unwilling to let go. He wasn't sure if he wanted to keep seeing Nicole, but he was pretty damn sure that he didn't want to go back to sitting in his apartment alone again. Especially after all that had been happening, or not happening with Lorelai. He really didn't want to lose another woman in his life to the woman who clearly didn't seem to know what she wanted from him, if anything. He licked his lips nervously and said, "Yeah, you know, the conversation."

Exasperated with his hesitance, Nicole finally said, "Luke, please."

Luke reluctantly dropped into the chair as he mumbled, "Here comes the conversation."

Nicole took a deep breath and leaned forward, watching him carefully as she said, "My parents are coming into town and I am going to have lunch with them and I thought maybe you'd like to join me."

"Join you?" Luke asked blankly. Meeting the parents, wow, this was not at all what I was expecting, he thought, his mind racing.

Nicole watched him, for the first time showing signs of being nervous herself. "What do you say?" she prodded.

Faced with yet another vulnerable woman, Luke did what he did best, backpedaled. "It's not that I don't wanna meet your parents, it's just that I haven't met any parents for a long time," he hedged.

Nicole fidgeted with the handle of her coffee mug and glanced down at the table as she said, "Well, you don't have to. I'm just giving you the option."

As Luke weighed those options, balancing his guilt against his urge to just be done with it there and then, torn between fight or flight, Jess walked past the table and said, "Geez, man, just meet her parents already."

Luke glared at him and asked, "Do you mind?"

Jess just shrugged as he sneered, "So what if they hate you? You've been there before."

Nicole shook her head and said quickly, "You know what, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot."  
Guilt won out as Luke heard the slight tremor in her voice, and knew that he might cause her more embarrassment if he backed out and she had to explain to her parents where the mystery man in her life was. Suddenly, he was tired of the excuses, tired of making them, and tired of having them made for him. "I'm not on the spot. Really, I'm completely off the spot. I'm spotless," he rambled. "Uh, what time's the lunch?" he asked.

"Two o'clock on Thursday," she told him.

Luke nodded as he digested the information. "Two o'clock on Thursday. Okay, two o'clock on Thursday, I'll be there," he promised as he tapped the tabletop with his forefinger for emphasis.

Nicole beamed her relief. "That's great. So I'll see you tonight?" she asked as she gathered her purse and briefcase.

Luke simply nodded and said, "I'll see you tonight."

Luke stood up as he watched her leave, all of the thing he thought that she was going to call him out on flitting through his mind. _She should have been asking me why I've been so distant. She should have been asking me what I was really thinking about as she talked on and on about her clients, her friends, her life. She should have been asking why we don't see each other enough. She should have been asking why I wasn't chomping at the bit to get back in her bed,_ he thought as he stood at the window watching her climb into her car and pull away from the curb. Luke raised his hands to his head, adjusted his cap, and realized how lucky he had just gotten. There had been no recriminations, no pressure, no probing cross examination. _She still wanted to be with him._ _She still wanted him to meet her parents. She still wanted him to take her to the movies. She still wanted all of the things that Lorelai obviously didn't want from him,_ he realized. She was still sure that she wanted him, and at that moment, that was enough for him. Once again, Luke resolved to try to give her what she wanted, after all, in the long run, it was what he wanted too.

XXXX

Okay, so she had been hiding out, but she didn't know what else to do. What do you say after you throw yourself at your friend, and he doesn't reciprocate your feelings? What do you say when someone offers you comfort and support, and you try to offer sex in return? _Okay, maybe not sex, but some kissing. Which would have probably led to sex, truth be told,_ Lorelai admitted to herself. She forced herself not to think about how strong and solid he had felt as he held her. She shoved the memory of the heat of him emanating through his shirt into the far corner of her mind. She squelched the memory of the look in his eyes as he stroked her cheek and then kissed it softly, like she imagined a patient and indulgent brother would. All of these things were kept firmly locked away as she wandered through the house calling out minor repairs that needed to be made as Rory made a neat list on a sheet of notebook paper.

When Rory mentioned that morning that her birthday week preparations were in full swing, she also reminded Lorelai that they needed to make a list of repairs that needed to be made in anticipation of Luke's traditional birthday gift for five hours of slave labor. With each notation that was made, Lorelai felt another twinge of remorse for putting him in such a bad position. _Not literally, but figuratively. He had a girlfriend. He was happy. He didn't want anything like that with her, he only wanted her friendship,_ she reminded herself for the millionth time. _And that should be enough, _she reasoned. _More than enough. Luke was a great friend to have._ _He had single handedly kept this house from falling down around them,_ she reminded herself. _When you blubbered all over him about the inn, and your job, and Rory's future; he made all of the right promises, and you know that he'll move heaven and earth to keep them,_ she told herself. _Face it, you screwed up again. You have screwed up one of the best friendships you have ever had, and you've screwed it up even more by avoiding him, _she reprimanded herself. _Now you have to fix it, if for no other reason than to get the outlet in the bathroom fixed, _she thought with a wry smile. _Suck it up, Gilmore. You tried to score the touchdown, but you struck out, _she thought as she took a deep breath and stared at the fireplace, wondering if the slave labor was even going to be an option this year.

"The chimney needs to be swept," she called out to Rory as she placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the rest of the room critically.

XXXX

Luke parked the truck in the driveway and then hoisted his toolbox out of the bed. He looked up at the house, making mental notes of a few obvious chores that would need to be done in addition to the list Rory had jokingly warned him of when he ran into her outside of the bakery the day before. He glanced uneasily at the Jeep parked in its usual spot and the trudged to the porch. He inspected the floor boards and the railings as he walked the perimeter of the house, and then noticed that the hedges needed to be trimmed back. Finally, he walked up the back steps and knocked on the kitchen door. When Lorelai opened it, she looked shocked to see him there, but recovered with a quick, "Hiya."

"Your slave is here," he said dryly.

Lorelai blinked in amazement and then asked, "And where's the French maid outfit I requested?"

Luke pointed to his chest and answered, "I've got it on under the plaid."

Lorelai flashed a genuine smile of relief as she quipped, "So what else is new?" and stepped back to allow him to enter.

"So, how does it feel to be a year older?" Luke shot back as he stepped into the kitchen and glanced around. He spotted an array of cookies laid out on the kitchen table and then placed his toolbox on the counter with a perplexed frown.

"Uh, I'm not a year older until Friday, Fifi," Lorelai pointed out quickly as she snatched a cookie from the table and began to nibble on it, just to have something to do.

Luke took a deep breath and then rubbed his hands together as he looked at her and said plainly, "We need to talk."

When he opened his mouth to say more, Lorelai held up the hand holding the half eaten cookie and said, "Luke, please. Just let me say this." Luke closed his mouth again and cocked his head, waiting patiently to hear what she had to say. "I am so, so sorry about what happened that night," Lorelai said in a rush. "Not that anything happened, but you know," she said nervously. "I just, I was," she began and then paused, searching to find the right words, desperately trying to recall the speech she had written and re-written in her head. "I was over-tired, and over-stressed, and overwrought, and you, you were great," she said as she gestured to him lamely. When he tried to speak again, she shook her head and said quickly, "It was wrong of me to do that to you, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. You are a great friend, and it's been killing me, knowing that I did something that could jeopardize that." She shook her head and said softly, "You were there for me, just like you always are, and I appreciate that, really I do." She looked up at him and said, "I am happy that you have someone in your life, happy that you're happy. I'd send Nicole a note apologizing to her, but I'm afraid that if I did that, then you couldn't be my friend anymore, and I really, really need you to be my friend," she said sincerely, as she gestured with the cookie helplessly.

Luke stared at her, the word 'friend' reverberating in his head, and then turning bitter on the tip of his tongue. In the end, "Uh huh," was all he managed to grunt.

"I swear to you, it'll never happen again," Lorelai said hurriedly. "No matter how hot you look in that French maid's outfit, I promise I will keep my filthy paws to myself. You'll be glad to hear that I managed not to make a pass at Jackson, while I was at Sookie's," she joked lamely. "See? That's how much better my self-control has become," she said with a shaky smile.

He wanted to tell her that he wanted it to happen again. He wanted it to happen again and again and again until there was no doubt left in either of their minds. He wanted to tell her that he wanted to be more than her friend, but here she was, her bright blue eyes beseeching him to take the scraps she offered him, and not ask for more. Here she was, hoping to keep her handyman on hand, her coffee purveyor firmly behind his counter, and Luke safely at arm's length.

"Please, Luke, please," she said softly, breaking the silence that stretched between them.

And in that moment, as he looked at her standing there waiting for him to say something, the anger and regret he expected to feel was missing. In its place came a flood of relief. Luke stared at the dark haired woman he had quietly loved for years, and realized fully the power she had over him, and it rocked him back on his heels. He didn't want her to be able to twist him around like this, turning his gut inside out and making him crazy. He wanted peace and quiet, a little understanding, and a lot of comfort; all things that he wasn't likely to get from Lorelai Gilmore. With a slight nod, Luke cleared his throat softly and asked, "Rory said that you made a list?"

Lorelai's smile was brilliant as she exhaled her relief and said, "And what a list it is, my friend."

Luke looked down at the table as if seeing it for the first time and asked, "What the hell is this?"

Lorelai shrugged and answered, "My birthday Mallomars."

"She says like I should just know this," Luke muttered as she held out the pad of paper that Rory had used to make the list.

"Here's your list," she said with a smile.

Luke scanned the items on the list and asked, "What's wrong with the garbage disposal?"

"It's not disposing," she replied as she took a box of Mallomars from the cabinet.

Luke peered down into the disposal, reached in and pulled out a spoon. He held it up for her to see and said, "Next."

"You're so good!" Lorelai said with a grin as she opened the cookie box

"Did you ever consider the possibility of just pulling the spoon out yourself?" Luke asked as he looked at the other items on the list.

Lorelai hovered a little too close to him as she said, "I did consider it, yes. Do you wanna start upstairs or down? 'Cause there's actually more to do upstairs this time for some reason," she told him as she took a Mallomar from the box and filled in the spot that had been left open from the one she had eaten.

"What'd you just do?" Luke asked incredulously.

Lorelai shook her head and asked, "What?"

Luke pointed to the table and said, "You put the cookie down."

Lorelai nodded and said, "Yeah."

Luke stared at her, his brow furrowed in confusion as he said, "You ate the cookie, and then you took a cookie out of the box and put it where the cookie you just ate was."

Lorelai surveyed her work and then answered, "Yeah."

"Well, that's nuts," he told her.

"Rory made this for me, I don't wanna ruin it," Lorelai explained.

"Then why'd you eat the cookie?" Luke demanded.

Lorelai shrugged again and said slowly, "'Cause I wanted a Mallomar."

"But why didn't you just eat one out of the box?" he asked.

"'Cause this one was right here. The box was all the way in the cupboard," Lorelai said as she gestured vaguely to the cabinet.

"But you had to go to the cupboard to get the box to replace the cookie you ate off the table," Luke argued.

"So?" Lorelai asked in an exasperated tone.

Luke rolled his eyes as he dropped down into a chair and said, "Looking at the list now." He read through a few more items, asked a few questions, and then told her, "Okay. So, I can do most of this list today, but, uh, I can't put up the towel rack until later. I didn't bring my drill."

"Heh," Lorelai chuckled.

"Dirty, yes, I know," Luke said quickly before she could get it out.

Lorelai adjusted a couple of the cookies on the table and then looked over at him cautiously as she said, "Um, that's okay, I'll be here tomorrow afternoon if you wanna come by then."

Luke shook his head and said, "I can't tomorrow, I'm having lunch with Nicole's parents."

Lorelai sat back, blinking in surprise as she asked, "Really?"

Luke nodded and stared down at the list as he answered, "They're coming into town."

"Okay," Lorelai said slowly, hoping to keep her tone neutral.

Luke shrugged and said casually, "So, Nicole thought I should meet them."

"Makes sense," Lorelai murmured as she digested the information, wondering if Luke realized that meeting a girl's parents meant that you were taking things to the next level.

Luke glanced over at her, trying to gauge her reaction as he said, "Yeah, well, you know, we've been seeing each other fairly regular now, so, makes sense."

"Yeah, I think it's great," Lorelai said in a quiet voice.

Luke gave a slight nod, more for his own benefit than for hers and said, "Yeah, I do, too." He stood up and lifted his toolbox from the counter. "I should get started upstairs," he said uncomfortably. As he walked from the kitchen, he turned and said, "By the way…"

"What?" Lorelai asked, her heart leaping into her throat as she half hoped that he would finally say something, anything about what happened between them that night.

Luke grimaced a little as he said, "You were right about Jess."

"What about Jess?" Lorelai asked blankly.

"He's not going to school," Luke told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked as her brain finally kicked into gear.

Luke nodded and said, "Yup. I watched him head right toward the school and when he thought no one was watching him, he got in his car and drove off. So I got in my truck and followed him."

"Where?" Lorelai asked.

"To Wal-Mart," Luke said, emphasizing the name.

"Oh," she said softly.

"He's been lying to me this whole time," Luke told her indignantly.

Lorelai cocked her head and asked, "What are you gonna do?"

Luke took a deep breath and said, "I'm gonna tell him that I know what he's been doing, remind him that we had an agreement, that he's supposed to go to school, that he's supposed to graduate from school, and then. . ." he paused as he let out a defeated sigh. "I'm gonna tell him I know what he's been doing," he said with a helpless shrug.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Lorelai told him, her voice soft with sympathy.

Luke nodded and said, "Yeah, well. I'm gonna be upstairs."

Lorelai watched him walk toward the staircase, and fought the urge to follow him. "Okay. Call if you need anything," she said as the phone began to ring. As Luke disappeared up the stairs, Lorelai snatched the phone from the cradle and pressed the 'on' button without checking the caller ID. "Hello?" she said shortly.

"Lorelai, hey, it's Alex," he said with a smile in his voice.

"Alex?" Lorelai asked in a bewildered tone.

He laughed and said, "Yes, actually me. And this is actually you, I am assuming. At least, you sound much different than your answering machine," he told her.

"Wow, hey, Alex," Lorelai said as she walked over to the couch and slowly sank down onto it.

"I know I've been bad about calling, and I am so sorry about all of the phone tag," he said quickly. "Things have just been so crazy trying to get things lined out, and then, all of a sudden, I remembered that it's your birthday this week," he said in a rush. "It is this week, right? I didn't miss it, did I?" he asked quickly.

Lorelai smiled as she said, "It's on Friday."

Alex let out a relieved breath as he said, "Good. So, can I buy you a birthday dinner? Any night this week, you name it," he said magnanimously.

Lorelai glanced up as she heard the sound of hammering coming from upstairs and then closed her eyes and said, "Dinner would be nice."

XXXX

Luke stood in the diner and watched as a crane lowered an enormous pizza onto a bunch of picnic tables pushed together outside of Miss Patty's studio. He twisted the towel in his hands as he scanned the assembled crowd, looking for Rory. He had promised that he would make an appearance at the party that she was throwing for Lorelai tonight, but now he wasn't so sure. He just needed to take a step back, needed to take a moment to reassess things, needed to straighten out the jumbled mess in his head.

It had been an eventful couple of days. First, finding out the Jess actually was ditching school in direct defiance of everything they had agreed to. And then, facing Lorelai and hearing her say point blank that she didn't mean for it to happen, didn't want it to happen, and then promise him that it would never happen again. After the initial moment of relief, and the self-congratulations on not tossing away what he could have with Nicole, the bitterness formed into an icy ball in his stomach. He decided to throw himself into this relationship with Nicole, and only felt even more vindicated when she took his complete and utter meltdown in front of her parents seemingly in stride. She was calm and quiet; she was straight forward and understanding, able to gently joke about it with him; and she was comforting without being overwhelming. She was everything that Lorelai Gilmore wasn't. And that was the best thing of all. At least that's what he told himself.

Luke walked over to the door. As he reached for the handle, he paused as he spotted Lorelai and Rory crossing the square, heading for the party. He watched them for a moment, smiling as Lorelai slung her arm over Rory's shoulders and gave the younger girls a sideways hug. He saw Lorelai point and gasp as she spotted someone in the crowd and then turned to Rory. Rory simply smiled and shrugged as Alex stepped down off of the curb and went to meet then halfway. Luke released the handle and took a small step back from the door. Without thinking, he reached out and flipped the sign to 'Closed' with his left hand and switched out the lights with his right. He saw Lorelai give Alex a warm hug and then smile up at him happily as he said something to both her and Rory. With a flick of his wrist, Luke turned the lock, spun on his heel and headed for the stairs. He was never a big fan of parties, anyway.


	8. Say Goodnight, Stephen Stills

**Say Goodnight, Stephen Stills**

_**Say goodnight, Gracie & Here Comes the Son**_

Jealousy is a funny thing. It can make a man do things that he never thought that he would do. For example, a guy could be standing in his apartment, with the lights off and a beer in his hand watching a party take place, but not participating. He might not even know how long he had been standing there if it weren't for the collection of empties that began to take up residence on the window sill. He might have been standing there still if the phone hadn't rung. And if the phone hadn't rung, he might have seen the dark haired woman he had been watching give the tall, dark man she had been talking to a friendly hug and a pat on his arm as he left. As it was, he had missed all of that, but he did catch Nicole's suggestion that they put the disastrous meeting with her parents behind them and go away for a weekend ski trip. He could probably blame it on the sound of bad eighties dance music drifting up to the closed windows of his apartment, the hum of alcohol coursing through his veins, or the green eyed monster gnawing away at his insides, but in the end he said yes. Not only 'yes', but an enthusiastic 'yes', backed with a 'sounds great,' and chased with a throaty confirmation that some time alone away from it all would be good.

XXXX

Is it wrong to be jealous of your best friend? Is it wrong to want to superimpose your hand for hers when she tells you that she accidentally had that hand on Luke's butt while he inspected the wall behind the stove for them? It probably was wrong to ask her how it felt, but Lorelai couldn't resist. When Luke shouted at them to stop talking about his butt, Lorelai was pretty sure that the impulse she felt to go over there and grab two nice handfuls of that fabulous ass was indeed wrong, but it was definitely there, and if feeling Luke's butt was wrong, Lorelai was pretty sure she didn't want to be right.

Unfortunately, her version of the floor show was short lived, and far too soon, Luke stood up and confirmed that all of the things their contractor had told them about rebuilding the wall were right, and that they were out of commission until the repairs could be made. She grinned at him happily as she and Sookie continued to make commentary about his butt, and Luke flushed with embarrassment and frustration. She thanked him for taking the time to give them a second opinion, and said she'd see him for breakfast with Rory Saturday morning, but then Luke shook his head and told her that he and Nicole were going skiing that weekend.

Lorelai listened as Luke rambled on about the logistics of their trip, trying to tamp down the surge of virulent resentment she felt toward the redheaded lawyer. She smiled and nodded, made all of the right noises, and then, just when she was congratulating herself on keeping her big mouth shut, she opened it and invited him to stay there, at the inn, with his brittle, bitchy girlfriend. She couldn't believe that she had actually suggested it. When Luke hemmed and hawed, she felt a flood of relief, knowing that he would probably never take her up on the offer. She smiled and joked some more about his butt before thanking him again, and turned to watch him leave.

At that moment, Michel burst into the kitchen holding a picture of two chow puppies and babbling incoherently about rescuing dog food, someone's chin and something about their paws before asking her if she could fire Frank after all. "Sure thing," Lorelai muttered with a heavy sigh. She paused at the kitchen door, squared her shoulders and murmured, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

XXXX

To say that her frustration level was at an all time high would be a bit of an understatement. On top of all of the trouble she was having just keeping the inn afloat, on top of having to layoff most of their staff, on top of the fact that he daughter calmly informed her that she would be attending a party to watch Lane's band perform, and piled on top of the secret obsessive and possibly self-destructive crush on her friend Luke, the fact that the scraps of her love life, or lack thereof, was a complete shipwreck seemed a tad excessive even for her fickle friend fate.

As Lorelai moaned to Sookie about her latest run in with Max, her friend raised all of the same question that had been floating around in Lorelai's own head. In typical Sookie fashion, and after spending five minutes trying to convince Lorelai that it was possible that maybe the kiss hadn't happened, that maybe she had only dreamed that Max had kissed her between the coat racks, she cut to the chase and asked, "Lorelai, what's the ultimate thing here? Do you wanna get back together with him?"

"I don't know," Lorelai cried, as she threw her arms out to her sides. "I don't know what I'm feeling or what I'm looking for these days, and I hate that. 'Cause it's so wishy-washy, but it's true," she said as she sneered at herself a little. _Liar. You know what you want, who you want, you just can't have him,_ the little voice inside her head taunted. "I mean, technically, I'm still seeing Alex, although it's more intermittent than ever, and I'm pretty sure that were more friend-ish now, I mean, I haven't slept with him since New York, and that was a disaster," she ranted. "I'm not even sure I wanna get back together with Max. The kiss just happened out of the blue," she said as she shook her head. "I mean, there was a reason that I broke up with him in the first place, right? What was that?" she asked Sookie.

"You didn't love him," Sookie reminded her solemnly.

"I did! I did love Max! Why does everyone keep saying I didn't?" Lorelai cried indignantly.

Sookie held her palms out to placate her friend and said, "Well, not that you didn't love him, you just didn't love him enough, or in the same way as he loved you, and that's okay, Lorelai," she said quickly. "It's okay," she said in a softer tone with a reassuring nod.

"If I knew where Max was on all this, I would know better where I was," Lorelai reasoned. _Or if Luke was free,_ she corrected herself. _Then it would be a no brainer, wouldn't it,_ she thought wryly. But Luke was not an option, so she needed to deal with what her options actually were. "It's like when you go to a steak and lobster place, it's easier to know what you want once you know what your date wants. Like, you want steak if he's getting lobster, 'cause then you can share. Or if he's not, you can get surf and turf, though you risk looking like a pig, but some guys aren't turned on by a big appetite, and now I'm not just confused, I'm massively hungry," she rambled as she glanced uneasily across the square at the diner.

Sookie smiled sympathetically and said, "Me, too. Maybe lunch will take your mind off it a bit."

"Hope so," Lorelai said sullenly.

"Are you sure there was really an Alex? He could have been a dream," Sookie suggested.

"Stop," Lorelai said firmly as she led Sookie over to the line at Jo Jo's to place their orders. "And Alex was real," she added in a low voice. "His dating me was what turned into a nightmare," Lorelai said with a smirk.

Sookie looked up at her with a frown and asked, "What happened in New York?"

Lorelai chuckled and said, "Ah, no. That is something that I will never tell another soul."

Sookie's eyebrows shot up as she asked, "Kinky? Scary? What? Did he hurt you?" she asked in a worried tone.

Lorelai shook her head adamantly and said, "No, no, nothing like that."

Sookie's face softened as she asked in a low voice, "Was it bad? Could he not…" she said as she made a circular gesture with her hand.

"No! No," Lorelai said with a chuckle. "Trust me, I would recommend dating Alex Lesman to all of my friends and neighbors," she said quickly. Lorelai shook her head and said, "No, Sook, this was all on me. I'm too screwed up to date. I think this thing with Max is a prime example of that," she said dryly.

Sookie shook her head and said, "No you're not. You just haven't found the right guy yet," she said firmly. "Do you think Jo Jo's tuna salad is any good?" she wondered aloud as she scanned the menu.

"Just ask him to put some chili on it, it'll be fine," Lorelai assured her.

XXXX

_Okay, that was beyond awkward,_ Luke told himself as he closed the bathroom door behind him and silently turned the lock. He took a deep breath and braced his hands on the sides of the sink as he slowly raised his head to look himself in the eye. _I can't do this,_ he thought wildly_. She's not the girl that I want._ Luke stared at himself in the mirror, trying to find one last vestige of the man he was just a few months ago, before life dropped him into a morass of turmoil and confusion. _The girl that you want doesn't want you,_ he reminded himself sternly as he turned on the taps and let the cool water run over his hands. _The girl that you want just came in here and turned down the bed for you to stay in the room she is providing free of charge for you and the girl that you are with. She even left you a nice pillow mint so that your breath could be minty fresh for Nicole,_ he told himself snidely as he splashed water up onto his face. _Love the one you're with, Stephen Stills,_ he told himself firmly.

As he dried off with the hand towel, Luke couldn't repress the smug smile that curved his lips when he thought about how nervous Lorelai had been when she stepped into that room with that basket slung over her arm like Dorothy looking for the great and powerful Oz. She was nervous. She was uncomfortable. She was freaked out that he had actually taken her up on her offer, and he was glad. Glad to have rattled her. A part of him was practically begging for a high five. _The look on her face when Nicole stepped out of the bathroom in that robe was priceless,_ Luke admitted to himself with a smirk. _Of course, Nicole's little display of possessiveness didn't hurt, _he thought as he carefully folded the towel and hung it over the bar by the sink. No, he wasn't mistaken this time. Lorelai was jealous. He could see it in her eyes, in her every movement. He didn't need the wizard to give him the brain or the heart to know that, he only wished that he had the courage to force the issue. The problem was, she had already made her feelings very clear. She didn't want to want him, even if she did.

XXXX

Lorelai jerked to a stop at the red light in front of Luke's. She looked over at the darkened windows and felt her stomach twist as she realized that she knew exactly where Luke was and what he was probably doing at that very moment. "Oh God," she groaned as she leaned forward, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. She jumped when she heard the toot of a horn behind her, and looked up to see that the light had turned green. She pulled over to the curb just beyond the light and gave a little wave as Mrs. Cassini drove by, obviously on her way home from Friday night bingo in Woodbridge. Lorelai put the Jeep in park, and turned off the ignition. She shoved her purse and the stupid cash box under the seat, grabbed her keys and climbed out of the car. Once her feet were on solid ground, Lorelai placed her hands on her hips and tipped her head back, staring up at the moonlit sky as she sucked in big gulping breaths of fresh spring air. She heard the hum of a car coming and turned toward the square, walking quickly toward the gazebo to avoid having to talk wave or talk or explain herself to anyone.

She wasn't ready to go home to her empty house. She didn't want to sit alone on her couch, listening for the minutes to tick by as she waited for Rory to come home. She didn't want to crawl into her bed alone, go to sleep alone, wake up alone. And it wasn't just for the lack of a willing partner. She could probably call Alex, although he had once again gone radio silent after her birthday party. Frankly, she was done with that, and given their conversation at the birthday party, she was pretty sure he was too. After what Max had just said to her, and the amount if furniture he had placed between them just to keep himself a safe distance from her charms, she was pretty sure that one phone call could lure him back. But instead of making her feel satisfied, that knowledge only made her feel even worse. And it was precisely because she cared about Max that she didn't do that. It was the least that she could do after all that had happened.

Lorelai walked up to the gazebo, but instead of going in, she stood and stared at the bench she had sat on the night that Christopher's new daughter was born. The night that Luke almost kissed her. The night that he did kiss Nicole. She closed her eyes, swallowing hard and then she drew a breath in through her nose, keeping her mouth clamped shut. She opened her eyes, and tipped her head back to look at the bright full moon. "He should have kissed me instead," she said softly.

"Are you going to howl?" Luke asked in a slightly amused tone.

Lorelai jumped at the sound of his voice and said, "You're always doing that."

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Sneaking up on me," she said irritably.

Luke shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and said, "I saw you here and I was just checking on you. Lots of activity tonight, a bunch of thugs on the lose in Stars Hollow," he said gravely.

Lorelai turned to look at him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Got a call from Coop, there was a fight at some party tonight, and apparently Jess was involved, but he took off," he told her.

"Jess? Is Rory okay?" she asked.

Luke nodded and said, "The cops were straightening it all out when I got there. I saw Rory and Lane walking home, so I gave them a ride home," he assured her. "Mrs. Kim is not going to be happy, though," he said darkly.

"Why?" Lorelai asked with a frown. "You didn't tell her about the band did you?" she asked.

Luke shook his head and said, "No, Lane did. She'd been into the beer."

"Oh no," Lorelai breathed. "Rory?" Lorelai asked.

"She's fine, worried about Jess, and more than a little mad, but fine," Luke told her

"Wow, big night in the burg, huh?" Lorelai asked as she fished her car keys from her pocket. "I'd better get home," she said as she gave him a slight nod and stepped toward her car.

"Lorelai, wait," Luke said as he reached for her arm.

Lorelai stepped back, jerking her arm out of his reach and said, "You should get back to Nicole," before she hurried toward the Jeep.

As Luke watched her walk away again, his patience snapped. "You're right, I should have kissed you instead, but you didn't want me to," he called after her.

Lorelai spun around as she reached the hood of the Jeep and said, "Crap, Luke. That's a load of crap and you know it."

Luke covered the ground between them in long strides, his eyes fixed on her as he homed in. "You should know what crap is, Lorelai, you shovel enough of it," he shot back.

Lorelai moved to the driver's side of the Jeep, keeping the car between them as she said, "You should feel lucky. You escaped all of my crap. You don't have to deal with me, and my crazy way of thinking. You don't have to worry about being another victim of Hurricane Lorelai," she shouted. "I was thinking about you, Luke. I was protecting you. If you don't like that, well, sue me. Need the name of a good attorney?" she asked snidely as she yanked the car door open.

"No thanks, I have one!" he shouted back.

Lorelai stood in the open door staring at him as he stood on the curb, his chest heaving with exertion. She shook her head slowly as the fight drained out of her. "I don't want to fight. I don't want to feel this way," she said softly. "I just want things to go back to being the way they were before," she said sincerely. Luke nodded, he placed his hands on his hips and ducked his head as he swallowed thickly. "Can we do that?" she asked.

Luke looked up at her and shook his head slowly as he said, "I want things to be as they could be."

Lorelai's voice cracked with emotion as she glanced down and said, "I can't."

"You won't," Luke countered.

"I won't," she confirmed.

Luke nodded his understanding and then said, "Then don't complain about they way things are. I've accepted it, now you should too," he said softly. When she looked up at him, Luke chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment and then said, "I have to go find Jess and make sure that he's okay."

"I need to get home to Rory," she said with a nod. "Bye, Luke," she said with a small catch in her voice.

"Goodnight, Lorelai," he said as he gave her his patented half wave and turned toward the diner.

XXXX

Everything has its price. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Relationships, romantic or not, do not come with a 'get out of jail free' card. Luke knew this the night that he had left Nicole alone at the Independence Inn. He knew it as he and Lorelai stood yelling at each other in the square. He knew it as he picked up the apartment phone and called the room at the inn and told Nicole that he was not going to be able to come back because he had to stay with Jess, and that he wasn't going to be able to go skiing, because he had to sort out the mess that his nephew had made. Everything had a price, and in the days following the fight at Kyle's parents' house, he paid it.

He didn't blame Nicole for being mad, she had every right to be. He didn't blame her for taking off and going to Vermont without him, there was no reason that she should have to suffer with him. In truth, he blamed himself. For all of it. He blamed himself for Jess, for not paying closer attention to what he was up to, and for not being able to give him whatever it was he needed. He took the blame for the hurt and confusion this had caused Rory, because he brought this screwed up kid here in the first place. He took the blame for what he was doing to Nicole, because he didn't love her, and for Lorelai, because he did.

Nicole was angry. Her patience had run out, and in its wake came questions and demands. Luke answered her questions as best he could, because she deserved at least that much, but thankfully, she never asked quite the right one to get to the root of the problem. Guilt and desperation were the words of the day as he tried to salvage what he could from their relationship. Was it selfish? Probably, he could admit, but he didn't care. At this point, there was nothing left to lose. Lorelai had told him that there was nothing left to hope for.

XXXX

Lorelai was actually relieved when they ran into Luke the morning after the party. He was too charged up at the moment to remember that he was supposed to be mad at her, and by forgetting, he made it possible for them to slip back into that easy give and take as he ranted about what was to be done about the Hummel.

She didn't want to think too hard about Luke, and what was said that night, and luckily, she had enough to keep her busy and distracted. Her mother was still being a jerk about the loan repayment, the inn was barely limping along, and Rory was not only in pre-graduation meltdown mode, she was also in some kind of fight/non-fight with Jess. And then, Fran Weston died. Fran's passing seemed to bring everything else back into perspective a bit. As they walked to the church for Fran's funeral service, Lorelai wrapped her arm around Rory and spoke softly as she told her daughter how Fran had tried to buy her baby's affections with cookies. They at in the pew with Sookie, and Lorelai really did try to keep her mind on Fran, and how sad she was about her passing, but when she heard the word Dragonfly crackle through the faulty microphone, her mind switched gears and all she could think about was the inn she and Sookie dreamed of, and the tidy sum of money that was tucked away in her savings account, the remainder of her father's birthday investment after the loan repayment.

As they stood to file out of the pews, Lorelai spotted Luke near the back of the church, and smiled shyly as his eyes met hers. Luke nodded slightly in acknowledgement, and then ducked down the side aisle to make his escape. She was willing to admit, to herself and to others, that stalking Fran's lawyer as he carried her casket around the town square was probably not the classiest thing she had ever done, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Lorelai had never felt so desperate for something good to happen as she did at that moment. After getting the lawyer to agree to sell them the property, Lorelai and Sookie fell back away from the crowd of mourners, and stepped up onto the curb just outside of the diner.

Lorelai looked at Sookie and said in an awed voice, "It's all ours."

"It's all ours," Sookie squealed in return before catching herself, and arranging her features into a somber mask.

"Excellent work," Luke said as he smirked at them from the steps of the diner.

"Oh, hush you," Sookie said with a wave of her hand.

When Lorelai turned to look at him, but said nothing, Luke nodded and said gruffly, "Congratulations."

"Well, not yet," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Luke nodded as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and shrugged out of it. He hooked a finger into the collar and tossed it over his shoulder as he said, "You'll get it," and turned to go into the diner.

"Ooh! We should have Luke take a look at the place for us, see if it's all up to code and stuff," Sookie said excitedly.

"Nah, Luke has enough on his plate right now," Lorelai said dismissively.

"He won't mind, come on, go ask him," Sookie cajoled.

"We'll hire an inspector," Lorelai told her.

"But Luke is free," Sookie said with a frown.

"Luke is not free," Lorelai said with a scoff. When Sookie looked at her questioningly, she said, "I mean, he has tons of stuff to do, and almost no free time."

"Luke always checks stuff out for us," Sookie argued.

"Well, then you ask him. I need to find Rory," Lorelai said as she turned and hurried away, leaving Sookie gaping after her on the sidewalk.

XXXX

It had not been a good week. First the fight, and then the fight with Lorelai and then the fights, plural, with Nicole. And then, Fran Weston passed away, and Jimmy Mariano dropped in out of the clear blue sky and pushed Luke almost completely over the edge. After threatening Jimmy and ordering him to stay away from Jess, he got a phone call from Nicole suggesting that they take a cruise together that summer. She rambled on and on about the Caribbean versus driving through western Canada and cruising up to Alaska. When he hesitated, she jumped on him with both feet, calling him out on all of things she should have been asking him about all along, and questioning him relentlessly. Luke stumbled and stammered, and finally heard himself mumbling something about Canada and Alaska sounding good just to appease her.

Jess smirked as he watched Luke hang up the phone and scrub his hand tiredly over his face. "Here, Adolph, take Czechoslovakia while you're at it," Jess muttered as he shook his head.

"You're not helping," Luke growled as he stood up and headed for the bathroom, hoping to avoid any further conversation with anyone for the rest of the night.

But things only went from bad to worse. As he was leaving for Fran's funeral, he watched Rory and Jess do some kind of bizarre dance of hesitation and stubbornness, neither one willing to be the one to bridge the gap that had opened up after the debacle at Kyle's party. Then he met Nicole for a quick dinner afterwards, only to be presented with full color glossy brochures with pictures of blow dried people sporting perpetual tans and capped teeth, hoisting glasses with paper umbrellas in them. By the time he got home, Jess had closed up the diner, and gone upstairs. When Luke walked through the door, he asked if Jess had eaten and offered to make him some eggs. That's when all hell broke loose, and the next thing he knew, Luke was screaming that he was the Employee of the Universe at the top of his lungs. They went back and forth, Luke insisting that Jess had to graduate, and Jess telling Luke that it wasn't going to happen. Finally, Luke gave up and said simply, "Then, you've gotta go," and that was the end of the discussion.

The next morning Luke came back upstairs after opening the diner, and Jess was gone. So were most of his clothes, some CDs and some books. Luke stared at the empty hangers in the closet, and then at the dustless rectangles on the bookshelves and ran his hands through his hair as he sank down on the end of his nephew's bed, pressing his hands to his mouth, and tugging on his lower lip as he pulled them away from his face. He closed his eyes and whispered, "Oh shit," with a heavy sigh. He opened his eyes again and stared at the shelf, he saw a corner of a piece of paper sticking out of one of the books he had left behind and pulled it free. In Rory's loopy handwriting was the message, 'J - Sorry, I just can't bring myself to do the margin thing. I used Post Its instead. Deal with it. - R.' Luke stared down at it, his eyes widening in realization as he whispered, "Oh shit."

XXXX

It was official, Rory Gilmore was in full blown end-of-school-year meltdown mode. As much as Lorelai sympathized with her daughter's compulsion to meet everyone's needs, she still couldn't help baiting her just a little bit when she got like this, and that was exactly what she was doing when she saw Luke's face appear in the doorway. She frowned as he pointed exaggeratedly to Rory and shook his head no, and then motioned for her to come outside. Lorelai made an excuse about going out to get the paper and stepped out onto the porch, closing the door quickly after her. "Okay, um, little tip, the whole stalking thing works infinitely better when you don't actually smash your face in the window," she said as she stepped cautiously closer to him.

"I need to talk to you," he said anxiously.

Lorelai frowned and said, "Come inside."

Luke shook his head adamantly and said, "No, Rory's in there."

Lorelai smirked and asked, "Since when are you scared of Rory?" She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "'Cause seriously, Luke, I think you can take her."

"I just need to tell you something. Can she hear us?" he asked.

"Through the walls?" Lorelai asked with a laugh. "No, I put some kryptonite in her waffles. We're good," she assured him.

"Come over here," Luke said as he took her arm and pulled her away from the door.

As soon as he touched her, Lorelai's heart began to hammer in her chest. "You're freaking out the freaks this morning," she tried to joke to cover her nerves.

Luke looked her straight in the eye and said, "Jess is gone."

"What?" Lorelai gasped.

"And I don't think he's coming back," Luke added in a rush.

Lorelai stared at him in disbelief and asked, "What do you mean gone? Like gone, gone?"

Luke nodded and said, "Exactly like gone, gone."

Lorelai shook her head slightly to clear it and asked, "But when?"

Luke looked at her miserably and said, "Last night, this morning, I don't know. This morning I think," he told her. "I went up there to get some money out of the safe and I noticed that all of his stuff was gone," he said with a wince.

Lorelai softened as she looked at him and said, "Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry."

Luke shook his head and gestured wildly as he said, "Yeah, well, forget it. I'm through with him. He's eighteen, he can do whatever the hell he wants. He's on his own, I'm through," he said with more confidence than he felt.

"Luke," Lorelai said cajolingly as she placed her hands on his arms to keep him still.

"No, it's a relief. That kid was driving me crazy. Let him make his own way from now on. Let him see how far that smart mouth of his gets him without someone watching his back. I couldn't be more relieved," he insisted. Seeing that Lorelai wasn't buying a word he had to say, he closed his eyes for a second and then said, "I'm just worried about Rory. I assume she doesn't know."

Lorelai glanced back at the door and then said, "She hasn't said anything."

Luke nodded and then said gruffly, "I can tell her if you want me to."

Lorelai smiled as she said gently, "No, it's okay. I can do it." She wrinkled her nose as she said, "I just have to figure out when. She's got a lot of things on her mind right now."

"Well, don't wait too long. She'll notice eventually," he grumbled.

Lorelai gave his arms a soothing little rub and said, "Yes, okay. Well, thanks for coming over," she said as she stepped back and turned toward the door.

"No problem," Luke said his voice hitching slightly.

Lorelai stopped in her tracks and turned back to see him leaning heavily against the porch rail. "Luke?" she asked as she approached him cautiously.

"I failed him," Luke said in choked voice.

Lorelai grasped his arms again, squeezing them gently as she said in a vehement voice, "You did not fail him. You supported him, you defended him, you gave him a chance, and if he chose not to take it, there's nothing more you could do."

"Yeah," Luke answered in a doubtful tone. He looked up at her and said, "I seem to be failing everyone lately."

"Oh, Luke, no," she said softly.

Luke nodded slowly as he said, "Yes, Lorelai."

"Look at you. Your own nephew leaves, for God knows where, God knows how, and you, you're over here because you're worried about Rory," she said softly. She shook her head as she gazed at him affectionately and said, "Luke, no matter what you and I say to each other, or do to each other, I want you to know one thing. If there are two people in this world that you have never, ever, failed, they would be me and Rory," she said sincerely.

Luke looked up at her, his dark eyes probing, seeking the truth and finding it there in her eyes. He nodded as he swallowed thickly and ducked his head. Unable to resist, Lorelai lifted one hand, rested it gently on the back of his neck, and began to massage the tense muscles gently. Luke allowed himself to sink into her touch for a moment, closing his eyes as the caress of her soft hand sent shivers down his spine. Lorelai felt him shudder, and quickly yanked her hand away. Luke's head jerked up, and he caught the look of abject panic that flitted across her face as her hand still hovered in the air.

"No, don't," Luke said as he reached up and quickly grasped her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said at the same time, dropping her eyes to the porch.

"Don't be sorry," he said softly. When she looked up at him again, he saw the fear and confusion clouding the bright blue, but also saw a spark of hope there. "Just don't be sorry, Lorelai," he said in a low voice.

"Okay," she whispered.

Luke nodded, still holding onto her hand as he straightened up to his full height. "Okay," he agreed. He cleared his throat softly and said, "Well, I should go."

Lorelai stepped back, her fingers slipping from his as she asked, "Do you have any idea where he went?"

Luke nodded as he said harshly, "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea."

"Luke?" Lorelai called as he stepped off of the bottom step.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Rory asked me to ask you, no pressure or anything, because we know it isn't your kind of thing, but we have an extra ticket to Chilton's graduation, and Rory said that she thought it would be nice if you were there," she rambled nervously.

Luke stared at her for a moment before a smile creased his face and he asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, It'll be pretty boring, but Sookie and Jackson are coming, so, you know, you'd have a guy to talk to," she said with a shrug.

"She really wants me to come?" he asked incredulously.

"Unless she knows another Luke that I don't know," Lorelai answered.

Luke's smile widened as he said, "Not likely."

"No," Lorelai agreed as she found herself grinning at him in return. "You are the Luke that kept her in pie, aren't you?" she asked.

"I'd love to come," Luke told her.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Good, I'll let Rory know."

Luke nodded and said, "Thanks. Tell her I said thanks." With that he turned and walked around the side of the house, his step much lighter than it had been just a short time ago.

XXXX

The bells chimed as Luke walked back into the diner and found it deserted. He poked his head into the kitchen and saw Caesar slumped on a stool, exhausted after handling the morning rush single handedly. Luke gave him a short wave as he called, "Be right back," and dashed for the apartment stairs. He took them two at a time, and his keys in hand to unlock the frosted glass door the moment he reached the top. He walked into the apartment, leaving the door wide open and deliberately averting his eyes from the abandoned space Jess had left behind as he picked up the receiver. He tapped his fingertips against the tabletop and waited as the phone rang. When her voice mail clicked on, Luke said, "Nicole, hey, it's me. Uh, give me a call, when you get a sec, okay? If you're not busy tonight, I'd like to see if we can get together. Um, we need to talk about some stuff, okay? Okay. Alright then, gimme a call," he said before hanging up. He looked up and took a deep breath before he said out loud, "Love the one you're with. What a load of crap," he added with a derisive snort as he left the apartment, pulling the door firmly closed behind him.


	9. Tangled up in Knots

**Tangled Up in Knots**

Luke's mind was completely boggled. He knew that it was a part of the game that they played. He knew that this was an integral step in the dance that they had performed flawlessly for years. He knew that she would play it cool, but he also thought that there would be something that would give her away, at least to him, if not to the rest of the world. But this was mind blowing. She acted as if nothing had happened. That, in and of itself was not unusual, but there wasn't even a hint. Not a look, not a touch, not a word. Not that she didn't have words. She had thousands of them, most of them annoying, and all of them without any kind of deeper meaning. They dribbled out of her mouth and skimmed along the surface like rocks skipping across a pond. He was beginning to think he had imagined it. That moment on her porch, her hand on his neck, her fingers massaging his tense muscles, that same hand soft and plaint in his, and the quiet acceptance in her eyes when he asked her not to apologize for it.

He had thought that it meant something. He was so sure of it, that he ran straight home and called Nicole to set up the meeting that he always knew would come eventually. Buoyed by that same belief, bolstered by that spark that lit her eyes, he had done it. He sat at that table in the little French restaurant Nicole had chosen for dinner and picked at his artfully presented entrée as he gathered his thoughts and carefully worked them into words. And just when he thought that he had all of the right ones chosen, it came out as simply, "I don't think this is working for me."

Nicole had been upset, justifiably so. She asked for reasons and explanations, but he didn't have a good one to give her. She peppered him with questions, and when his answers didn't prove satisfactory, it turned a little ugly. There were a few harsh accusations and recriminations offered in a whisper, but he took them on the chin, refusing to let her bait him into a public scene. He took every verbal punch that she could throw, and would have gladly taken a few physical ones, if she were so inclined, as long as it meant that he could be done with it altogether. Ever the gentleman, he patiently waited until she seemed to run out of things to say, and then signaled for the check, his jaw working furiously as he dropped a pile of cash into the leather folder and then looked up at her. "Are you ready?" he asked gruffly, the first words he had uttered in fifteen minutes.

Nicole stared back at him, clearly trying not to let her angry tears spill in front of him, and said, "I guess I don't have any choice but to be ready."

As they stepped out of the restaurant, Luke asked, "Which way is your car?"

"You don't need to, I'll be fine," she said stiffly. When Luke simply turned and fixed her with that same patient blue gaze she said, "That way," and pointed to her left.

They walked along the sidewalk, not touching, not talking, each lost in their own thoughts. When they reached her car, Luke stood on the curb with his hands in his pockets as Nicole pulled her keys from her purse. She looked up at him and asked, "So this is goodbye?"

Luke nodded slowly and said, "I am really sorry. I didn't want to, I wanted…" he stammered.

Calmer now, Nicole nodded and said, "I know." She gave him a sad little smile and then stretched up to kiss his scruffy cheek. "Bye, Luke," she said quietly and then hurried to get into her car.

And here she was, the reason he had done it, sitting in his diner rambling on and on about spry European men with moustaches. She whined to Rory about the weight of their backpacks and when she actually tried to remove her shoes in his diner, Luke hit the breaking point. He picked up the giant backpacks that they had dumped onto the floor and set them against the side wall before he straightened up to his full height and stared down at her. He didn't yell, and he didn't scream at her, although he wanted to. He didn't make any one of a hundred snarky comments that floated through his head. He didn't kick her out on her shapely denim clad butt. Instead, when she asked him if he would grow a moustache, follow them around Europe and carry their bags, he decided to see if he could get this fish to bite once and for all.

"Sorry, got travel plans of my own," he told her.

Lorelai reared back in surprise and asked, "Really?"

Luke nodded and watched her carefully as he said, "Yep, I've been thinking about closing down the diner for a couple of weeks and taking Nicole on a little trip."

Rory's eyes widened appreciatively as she said, "Fun."

Luke smiled as he watched the play of emotions flit across Lorelai's face and said, "Thinking about driving through Western Canada and then taking a cruise up to Alaska."

Rory's eyebrows shot up as she asked, "A cruise?"

"Intimate," Lorelai murmured distractedly.

Luke smothered his smile as he said, "I guess. Is it?" he asked doubtfully.

Lorelai was jolted from her thoughts by his question. She looked up at him as she quickly tried to swallow the bitterness that clogged her throat. She flashed him a quick smile and then sang, "The Looove Boat!"

Luke flinched as she began to sing. "What?" he asked in a stunned voice. Nothing. No jealousy, no trying to talk him out of it, only mockery.

Lorelai nodded and said knowledgeably, "A cruise is a good spot to get down on one knee."

Luke stared at her, stupefied that she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting, and asked, "And do my ventriloquist act?'

Lorelai shook her head and glanced over at Rory, keeping her eyes averted as she said, "And propose."

"I have no plans to propose," Luke said gruffly, wondering how this had managed to backfire on him too.

Lorelai shrugged as she nervously toyed with a napkin and said, "You don't now, but after you've had dinner at Captain Stubing's table and Isaac's served you up a couple of mojitos."

Rory nodded as she looked up at Luke with a guileless smile and said, "Romantic cruises say commitment, my friend."

Exasperated, Luke said, "I am not committing and I am not proposing, so drop it."

Lorelai nodded and said a little too quickly, "Okay, it's dropped."

Luke glared at her and said, "Really drop it."

"Did I not just say it's dropped?" Lorelai asked Rory defensively.

"Heard it with my own ears," Rory confirmed.

"Thank you," Luke said as he raised his order pad and prepared to take their orders.

Lorelai simply grinned up at him and sang, "The Looove Boat…" When Luke glared at her pointedly, she shrugged and said, "If you'd get a radio in here, I wouldn't have to do that."

Luke rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Rory as he asked, "Okay, so your graduation is Wednesday at four, correct?"

Rory nodded but said quickly, "You know, you really don't have to go to it, Luke."

Luke shook his head and said firmly, "I want to. I feel like I've been through this whole Chilton thing with you."

"Okay, good, I want you there," Rory said with a happy smile.

Luke nodded decisively and said, "Good." He turned to find Lorelai staring up at him with a perplexed frown, and tried not to smile as he realized that his little ploy had gotten to her after all. He cleared his throat and asked, "So what do you want?"

Lorelai tore her eyes from him and turned to Rory as she asked, "Are you hungry?" in her 'please say no' voice.

Rory frowned as she saw Lorelai nod slightly toward the door and said, "I'm just sore."

Lorelai nodded and said, "Let's go home and rest," as she pushed herself up out of her chair.

Luke watched as she opened the door and pointed to their backpacks as he said, "Hey, wait, don't leave these."

Rory turned the doe eyes on him and said, "Store 'em for us?"

Lorelai nodded and said with a wave of her hand, "Yeah, until we hire a flatbed truck to carry 'em home for us."

"No," Luke said sternly.

Lorelai tuned and wrapped her arm around Rory as she said, "Ugh, my left foot hurts. My right foot hurts. Carry me."

Rory grasped her mother and replied, "You carry me."

Luke sighed as the bells jingled and the door closed behind them. He watched them fake hobble down the steps and then caught Lorelai's smile as she glanced back at the diner, took Rory's hand and began pulling her down the street at a trot, laughing as they ditched him with the dreaded backpacks. Luke couldn't help but smile when he saw them look at each other and dissolve into laughter, delighted with their ploy. He shook his head as she leaned down and picked up the packs. He carried them into the store room and set them aside, as he made a mental note to toss them in the truck and take them to their house later.

XXXX

Lorelai had stuck herself three times in the last five minutes. She sat on the edge of the couch, sucking on the pad of her forefinger as she glared malevolently at the dressmaker's dummy in front of her. "A cruise? Seriously?" she asked the dummy. She stared down at the pincushion attached to her wrist and muttered, "I guess he'll finally have someplace to wear his Buffet-head shirt."

"Does she ever answer you?" Rory asked as she lounged against the archway that led to the kitchen.

Lorelai jumped and glanced up sheepishly as she shrugged and said, "Sometimes."

"You wanna tell me what's going on with you?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Nothing is going on, Sweets."

Rory pushed off with her shoulder and walked slowly into the room as she said simply, "Mom."

"Nothing, I swear," Lorelai said quickly as she moved off of the couch and began fussing with the hem of the dress again. When she heard a knock on the front door, she said, "Probably the pizza. Can you get that?"

Rory nodded as she eyed her mother suspiciously and said, "Sure. Just be careful. You remember what happened the last time Dolly decided to attack you," she warned as she walked to the front door. She opened it to find Luke standing there holding their backpacks. She frowned and said, "Darn! You brought them back."

Luke chuckled and asked, "Wasn't I supposed to?"

Rory smiled as she stepped back to let him in and said, "I still think that you should consider our offer to be our bellman. It's a much safer option for a guy who doesn't want to commit or propose," she said as she led the way into the living room.

"Says you," Luke muttered under his breath as he followed her into the house. When he stepped into the room, all he saw was Lorelai's bottom sticking out from here she had her head up under the skirt of the dress.

"I just can't get it to lay right," she called to Rory as there was another knock on the door.

"Lie right," Rory corrected. "Be right back," Rory said as she went to answer it.

"Who now?" Lorelai asked as she ducked back out from under the dress, her hair a messy halo around her head as she spotted Luke standing there holding their packs and froze in place.

Luke smirked as she gaped up at him and said, "If I did that, they'd call me a pervert."

Lorelai automatically smoothed her hands over her hair and said, "Yeah, well, you just have to look like you know what you're doing."

A smile twitched at his lips as he asked, "Need some tips?"

Lorelai's eyes brightened as his words registered, and her smile widened as she said playfully, "Sure! Can you tell me what to do once I get under here?" she challenged.

Luke's eyebrows shot up. "Tell you? No," he said in a low voice, drawing the words out meaningfully.

"Pizza!" Rory called, breaking the spell as she carried the box with a huge brown bag on top into the kitchen.

Luke glanced down, his ears turning a faint pink as he said, "I just wanted to drop these off. Believe it or not, the place isn't called, Luke's Diner and mini-storage."

"I meant to," Lorelai said as she gestured to the backpacks futilely.

"I can show you how to pack them so the weight is more evenly distributed. Makes them easier to carry," Luke told her.

Lorelai nodded as she stood up and said, "That would be great, thanks."

"Have you eaten, Luke?" Rory asked as she hovered in the doorway. "We have tons of food because we ordered both the cheesy bread and the garlic knots," she told him.

"I, uh, should get back," Luke said regretfully, clearly tempted by the implied invitation.

"We also have beer," Lorelai said teasingly.

Luke nodded and said, "Sold. Where do you want these?" he asked as he held up the packs.

"Well, normally I would say in the kitchen, so they won't be in the way, but the pizza is in there," she said with a smirk.

"Laundry room," Luke said with a knowing nod as he carried them through the kitchen and onto the enclosed back porch.

When he stepped back into the room, Rory handed him a plate with Cheryl Ladd's face on it, which held a piece of pizza, a piece of cheesy bread and a garlic knot. "I thought I'd start you out slow, since you're a newbie," she said with a grin.

"It's plenty, thank you," he said as he took the plate and inspected the pizza's toppings. "Would a mushroom or a green pepper really kill you?" he grumbled.

"Yes," Lorelai and Rory replied in unison.

Lorelai laughed and said, "Anything that scares you there, just pick off and pile over here," as she tapped the bottom of her already heaping plate. "Table or living room?" she asked Rory.

"Well, we have company, so I suppose we should eat at the table like civilized human beings," Rory said with a smirk.

"Doesn't matter to me," Luke said quickly.

"We can eat here," Lorelai said as she set her plate on the table and tried to calm her nerves as she walked to the fridge. "Water or soda, Sweets?" she asked Rory.

"Water's fine," Rory said. She took the bottle that Lorelai extended to her and set it on the table next to her plate before grabbing a roll of paper towels and tearing off three. She handed one to Luke and said primly, "Your napkin, sir."

"Thanks," Luke said with a smirk as he took it from her and placed it in his lap.

Lorelai placed a bottle of beer in front of him, and said in an exaggerated drawl, "It's not often that we have a gentleman caller on cheesy bread night."

"No," Rory agreed as she pulled her garlic knot apart. "Makes a girl feel downright giddy," she said, playing along.

"I didn't come here to be your evening's entertainment," Luke grumbled as he carefully picked the ham and Canadian bacon off of his pizza and placed it on the side of his plate.

Lorelai quickly reached over, snatched the small pile form his plate, and added it to her plate. "I told you to pile it over here, Buck-o," she said as she popped a piece into her mouth.

Luke looked up at her and asked, "You were serious?"

"We don't joke about pizza, Luke," Rory said somberly. "If I weren't such a lady, that would have been mine," she said with a regretful sigh.

"So, you had a night off and you thought you'd come and hang out with the spinster sisters?" Lorelai asked as she curled a slice of pizza and then took an enormous bite out of it.

Luke wiped his mouth on his paper towel and took a drink of his beer before saying, "I was just dropping your stuff off. You were the ones who lured me in with the promise of garlic knots."

"Better than elderberry wine," Lorelai said through stuffed cheeks. She forced her food down, making Luke wince, and said, "See, Hon, no man can escape your web," she said to Rory.

When Rory's eyes dropped to her plate, Lorelai's widened at the realization of what she had said. She looked over at Luke in a panic, but he just shrugged and cleared his throat gently. "I think he went to find his dad," he said softly.

"Oh," Rory said softly.

Luke shook his head as he wrung his hands nervously and said, "It has nothing to do with you, Rory. He's crazy about you," he said gruffly. "He's just, well, he's just crazy right now," he said lamely.

"Yeah," Rory said quietly.

"Where is his dad?" Lorelai asked with a concerned frown.

"Um, California," Luke answered reluctantly as he fidgeted with his beer bottle.

"Oh," Rory said as she sucked in a breath.

"I don't know for sure, I mean, he hasn't called me, that's for sure," Luke said quickly. "I'm just guessing, because Jimmy showed up here in Stars Hollow just before Jess, uh, left," he explained. When Rory nodded mutely and picked at the crust of her cheesy bread, Luke couldn't take it anymore. "It's my fault," he said in a rush.

"Oh, Luke, no," Rory said as she looked up quickly.

Luke rubbed a hand over his mouth and said, "Yes, it is. I kind of told him that if he wasn't going to finish school, that he couldn't stay here," he confessed in a voice filled with regret.

Rory nodded as she digested the information and then said, "Well, that was the deal. He knew the deal, Luke," she assured him.

"I'm just sorry, that you…" he trailed off as he gestured to her helplessly.

Rory shook her head sadly and confessed in a quiet voice, "I never really expected him to stick around anyway."

"He should have. For you, he should have," Luke said gruffly.

Lorelai sat back, watching her daughter try to comfort Luke, as he tried to do the same for her while being as honest and straight-forward as he always was. She could tell by the way he shifted in his seat that it was killing him to hurt her, but she could also see by the way he used his hands to explain things, that he felt it was important for Rory to know what he knew, or, at least, suspected. Lorelai's heart melted as she saw him watching Rory carefully, as always, on guard, as always, ready to step in front of her to take the blow if he could.

Rory gave Luke a sad smile and said, "For you too." She shifted in her seat and said, "If you don't mind, I have some notes to review, so I think I'll just take this in my room."

"Rory, I didn't mean to…" Luke started to say as she stood up.

"You didn't, Luke," she reassured him, her smile a little stronger. "I just have stuff I'm trying to get done," she said with a shrug.

"Shout if you need anything, Hon," Lorelai said, knowing that what Rory needed more than anything else was to escape for a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

When Rory closed her bedroom door behind her, Luke sighed heavily and said, "I should go."

"No, Luke, eat your pizza," Lorelai said as she placed her hand on his arm to stop him.

"I don't wanna make her more uncomfortable than she already is," he said quickly.

"She's fine, Luke, really," Lorelai told him sincerely. "At least, as fine as any eighteen year old is," she said with a sigh. "So glad I'm not a teenager," she muttered as she picked up her cheesy bread and began pulling it apart.

"Me too," Luke agreed wholeheartedly.

"Although, when I was Rory's age, I wasn't exactly worrying about boyfriends," Lorelai said as she chewed.

"True," Luke said with a nod. "And, I'm well over eighteen now, and I can say that dating has not gotten any better," he said with a smirk. When he looked up, their eyes met. Sensing that they were getting too close to territory best not explored with her daughter less than fifteen feet away, Luke shifted in his seat as he asked, "Uh, she still has homework? Shouldn't she be done by now?"

Lorelai's smile unfolded slowly, lighting her eyes with pride before lifting her cheekbones. Luke stared at her mesmerized by the brilliance of it as she said, "She's working on her Valedictory address."

"Valedictory speech?" Luke asked blankly. Lorelai watched as his jaw dropped and he pointed to Rory's bedroom door. "She's the Valedictorian?" he asked in an awed voice.

Lorelai nodded slowly, her smile shining as brightly as her eyes as she said, "Yes, she is."

"Wow!" Luke whispered as he sat back in his chair and stared at Lorelai, dumbfounded. "Wow," he said again as it sank in.

Lorelai nodded and said warmly, "See how high you rank? You, my good friend, are a close personal friend of the Valedictorian of the Chilton Academy class of 2003."

Luke's lips twitched as he said, "I am, huh?"

"Yep," she confirmed again.

Luke's smile was instant, and matched hers in its brilliance. His eyes crinkled at the corners as a dimple winked at her, drawing her in. "That's so great," he said as he shook his head in wonder.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it," Lorelai said quietly, once again enthralled by his genuine affection and enthusiasm for Rory. "Incredible," she murmured.

"Amazing," Luke murmured as he absently plucked excess pepperoni from his slice of pizza and reached over to place it on the edge of Lorelai's plate without thinking.

Lorelai brushed her fingertips of the back of his hand to capture his attention, and when it worked like a charm she smiled and said, "You're a big part of that."

"Me? How?" Luke asked.

"Never underestimate the power of pie," she said softly as she removed her hand.

Luke nodded as he drew his hand back slowly and said, "I guess I never will again."

Lorelai shot him a sidelong smile and said, "Now, eat up, I need to get back to work on her dress."

XXXX

He didn't know why he hadn't told Lorelai that he had broken up with Nicole. _It should be so easy,_ he told himself. _Just tell her. Tell her that you're free. Tell her that she's the one you want. Tell her,_ he chastised himself as he wandered the men's department at Bloomingdale's in a fog the next day. He reached out to touch a blue shirt distractedly and thought, _But what if it's not that easy? What if she still says no? What if she uses the 'F' word again?_ he wondered as he picked a tie from a nearby rack, placed it on top of the shirt, and tried to figure out if it matched or not. _I can't be just her friend anymore,_ he realized sadly.

"May I help you?" a sales lady asked politely.

Luke jumped and said, "Oh, uh, yeah. Please," he added with a hint of desperation in his voice as he stared at the older woman as if she were an angel sent from above. "I, uh, have a suit. Bought it here, actually. Well, I didn't buy it, my friend did," he babbled. "She thought I needed to dress better, and she, uh was right," Luke said with a nervous chuckle as he looked down at his usual plaid and denim ensemble. He shook his head slightly and said, "Anyway, I have a suit, but mostly I've only worn it for funerals and stuff. Now I have to go to something that's not a funeral, so I need something that doesn't look like I'm going to a funeral," he rambled.

She smiled at him kindly, "I'm Joann, and I think I can help you."

"Hi, Joann, I'm Luke," he answered.

"What color is your suit, Luke?" she asked.

Luke grimaced and then frowned as he said questioningly, "Light black?"

Joann smiled again and asked, "Charcoal, maybe? Like this," she said as she touched the sleeve of a nearby sports jacket.

Luke nodded and said, "A little darker maybe but not black, black. I mean, it's not as black as the undertaker's," he said with a shrug.

"Okay, well, good," she answered with a nod as she tried to cover a grin. "That gives us a few of options. You can go with the blue, like you have there, which will brighten it up nicely, and go with your eyes," she said with a smile.

"Blue is good," Luke said with a nod, noting that he liked this blue better than the brighter shade Nicole had picked out for him.

"Blue it is," she answered. "Do you know your size?" she asked as she looked at the size on the shirt he had pulled from the rack and immediately dismissed it.

"Um, large? Sometimes, extra large, depending on the shirt," he answered.

She smiled as she pulled a tape measure from her suit pocket and said gently, "We'll just need to measure for your collar and sleeves."

"Oh, yeah. Right, right," Luke answered as his ears burned with embarrassment. As she positioned his arm straight out to his side, he confessed gruffly, "Been a while. I hate clothes shopping. I usually just order shirts and stuff out of catalogs."

Joann smiled as she noted the sleeve length in a small notebook she pulled from her pocket and then moved in front of him to measure his neck. "Most men do," she said gently. "I promise we'll make this quick and painless."

"Thank you," he breathed as she wrapped the tape around his neck.

"All done," she said with a bright smile. "Okay, now, do you like this blue or do you want to go with a brighter one?" she asked.

Luke looked down at the shirt that was almost the same color at Lorelai's eyes and said, "I like this one."

Joann cocked her head and suggested, "The brighter one might bring out your eyes more."

Luke shook his head quickly and pointed to the lighter blue again as he said, "I like this blue."

Joann smiled and said encouragingly, "Okay, halfway done. You take a look at the ties and pick out a few that you like, and I'll go get the shirt in the correct size," she told him.

"Okay," Luke said as he turned to a display of ties in a rainbow of colors and patterns displayed across a table. He ran his finger lightly across them before stopping on one that was sort of a beige-y gold color with a simple pattern. When Joann appeared at his side, Luke picked up the tie, the silky material slippery between his fingers as he asked, "Would this work?"

Joann smiled and said, "I think that would work very nicely."

"Yeah?" Luke asked with a pleased smile.

"Very nice," Joann said again as she gently took the tie from him and held it up against the shirt he had chosen. "See? You're not as bad at this as you think you are," she said cajolingly.

"Doesn't mean I'm about to do it," Luke muttered.

"No, but the undertaker will be green with envy if he sees you in this," Joann said with a small smile. "Come on, Luke, let's get you out of here," she said as she led him to the cash register.

"I think I love you," Luke murmured under his breath as he followed her lead.

XXXX

Lorelai stood outside of the main entrance to Chilton dancing from foot to foot and fidgeting with her purse strap as she watched for Sookie, Jackson and Luke. She was scanning the far end of the parking lot with one hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, when she heard a deep voice say, "Hey," near her ear.

Lorelai jumped slightly and turned to see Luke standing behind her. She smiled as she took in his neatly trimmed hair, his smooth, clean shaven face, and the blue shirt that brought out his blue eyes. "Hey, you look nice," she said with a grin. "I'm lovin' the tie," she said as she gestured to it.

"You look beautiful," he said without preamble or apology.

Lorelai flushed, preening slightly in her bright red dress as she tugged nervously at her purse strap. "I haven't seen Sookie and Jackson yet," she told him.

"I saw Jackson cruising the lot for a spot. They should be here in a minute," Luke told her, smiling as he watched her, the energy practically humming as it radiated from her every pore. "Nervous?" he asked gently.

"Excited, nervous, scared, exhilarated, you name it, I'm it," she said with a sheepish grin.

"She's going to do great," Luke said confidently.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Oh, I know she is, I'm just, you know, my baby," as she shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah, I know," Luke said gruffly as their eyes met.

After holding his gaze for a moment too long, Lorelai was even more jittery than before. She turned back to the parking lot, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she said, "Oh! There they are!" and pointed out Sookie and Jackson as they crossed the parking lot.

They made their way into the courtyard, the men ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the architecture as Lorelai and Sookie secured a row of seats. They placed programs and purses on the extra chairs for Richard and Emily, and then Lorelai went to seek out Rory. When she reappeared wither parents in tow, it was almost time for the ceremony to begin. Lorelai leaned over and whispered to Sookie that they would be able to put a bid in on the Dragonfly after all, even though in Lorelai's mind, her daughter had sold her soul to the devil to make the deal possible.

Sookie couldn't wait, so she quickly excused herself from the row and went to make that call to Fran's attorney to make the bid. They watched as the graduates filed into the courtyard, and as soon as they took their seats, Sookie pushed her way back down the row to reclaim her chair. Moments later, she was up again, stumbling over Jackson and Luke to get to the aisle so that she could snap some pictures of Rory in her cap and gown.

The ceremonies began with Headmaster Charleston's welcome, which led directly into the Pledge of Allegiance, led by none other than Paris Gellar. Lorelai, Sookie, Jackson and Luke all tried desperately to smother their snickers when Paris used air quotes to emphasize the words she didn't agree with in the pledge. Later, Brad Langford provided another moment for highlight for the reel when he began to serenade his fellow graduates with 'Cherish.'

Finally Headmaster Charleston took the podium to introduce Rory, and as she walked up to the stage, Sookie and Lorelai clung to one another and promised each other that they weren't going to cry because they didn't want to miss anything. Lorelai watched transfixed by the poised young woman who spoke clearly and confidently of her love of literature and the many adventures that she had taken with a cast of fictional characters. She blinked back tears and glanced over at her parents as Rory thanked them for their love, generosity and support through her years at Chilton.

Rory took a deep breath and looked directly at Lorelai as she said, "But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life's blood, Lorelai Gilmore."

"Uh oh," Sookie groaned.

Lorelai gripped her friend's hand tighter and murmured, "Hang in there."

Rory paused and then said, "My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Welty to Patti Smith. As she guided me through these incredible eighteen years, I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her," Rory said sincerely.

Sookie took huge gulping breaths as she blinked rapidly and whispered, "Not crying."

"Crying a little," Lorelai admitted with a watery smile.

Sookie nodded as she whispered, "Crying a little, but not blubbering. That's what we meant when we said no crying, no blubbering."

Rory's eyes sought Lorelai's over the crowd as she said simply and honestly, "Thank you, Mom. You are my guidepost for everything."

Sookie whimpered and said, "On the verge of blubbering here."

"Not doing too well myself," Jackson admitted as he ducked his head to hide his tears.

Lorelai leaned forward, only to see Luke wiping tears from his eyes. "Not you, too," Lorelai said incredulously.

Luke pointed to himself and then them as he said in a choked voice, "I'm blubbering, you're freaks."

Lorelai's heart began to pound in her chest as she looked up at her daughter, and then back over at an obviously moved Luke. She gulped in a deep breath as she realized how foolish she had been to think that this man could ever be just her friend, he was so much more than that already. As Rory's speech ended and they clapped madly for her, leading the standing ovation, and Lorelai saw Luke reach up to brush away another stray, the waning sunlight making his damp dark lashes shimmer with gold. She found it hard to catch her breath as they sat back down. She pressed her hand to her chest in a vain attempt to calm her heartbeat. Emily leaned over and whispered something to her about Rory's speech, but Lorelai was a million miles away as she watched Luke smile with heartfelt affection as Rory regained her seat, favoring him with a shy wave. In that moment, it was all Lorelai could do to keep from sobbing out loud.

"You okay, Honey?" Sookie asked gently.

"I don't know," Lorelai whispered. "No, I don't think so."

"Can I get you something?" Sookie asked anxiously.

Lorelai shook her head quickly and said, "No, there's nothing you can do" She caught herself and said, "I mean, I'll be fine. Just, wow," she said with a shaky smile as she fought her way back to reality.

Sookie smiled tremulously as she nodded and said, "Yeah, wow."

As they began handing out the diplomas, Lorelai was lost in thought as Sookie took off to try to stake out the best angle, Emily scanned the sea of blue polyester, and Luke, Jackson and Richard mentally appraised the school's buildings for insurance purposes. When they heard Rory's name called, they held their collective breath as she strode across the stage to shake hands with the Headmaster and accept her diploma. As she crossed to the other side, Rory turned, found Lorelai in the crowd, and made a goofy face that made her mother grin and stick out her tongue in return, much to her own mother's chagrin. When Sookie finally scooted back into their row, she hurriedly leaned over to whisper in Lorelai's ear. Lorelai's smile was instantaneous as she opened her program and said, "Oh my God. Uh, uh, I, I need a pen. I don't have a pen." She snapped her fingers and said, "Luke, give me your pen."

Luke leaned forward and said, "I don't have a pen."

Lorelai gave him an exasperated look and asked, "Where's the pen you take orders with?"

Luke rolled his eyes and replied, "You have got to stop assuming that I take pens with me everywhere I go."

Richard uncapped his pen and held it out to Lorelai as he said sternly, "Never be without a pen."

Lorelai smiled with relief and said, "Thank you, Dad," as she began to scrawl 'We got the Inn!' across the inside of the program. She craned her neck, waiting for Rory to turn to look around, and finally caught her daughter's eye. She held up the program for Rory to see, and Rory's beamed back at her with a giddy grin and stuck out her tongue.

Lorelai reciprocated, bouncing in her seat excitedly until her mother asked, "Really, Lorelai, how many more times are you going to do that?"

"I think about six," Lorelai replied, too happy to care.

When the ceremony ended, they filed out of the courtyard as the graduates milled around, seeking out their family members. Lorelai and Luke were separated from the others in the crush, and decided to just stand still until someone found them. "There she is," Luke said as he spotted Rory heading directly for them.

"How was my speech?" she asked as she reached them and hugged her mother tightly.

Lorelai held her close for a moment as she said, "It made everyone cry, including stone cold Luke."

Rory pulled back and smiled warmly at Luke as she teased, "Luke, you old softy."

Luke sighed and grumbled, "I will never live this down."

Lorelai smiled at him happily and said, "Not with me in your life."

Luke nodded and then looked from one to the other as he said, "I've gotta go, I've gotta get back to the diner."

Rory launched herself at him and hugged him hard as she said, "Thanks for coming, Luke."

Luke wrapped his arms around her and then cradled her head affectionately as he said, "Oh, sure." He held her out at arm's length and said, "The building's amazing." When she smiled at him he said softly, "So are you."

"Thanks," she answered. "I'm going to go see if I can find Grandma and Grandpa," she told Lorelai, and then turned to hurry away.

Lorelai looked over at the proud smile on Luke's face as he watched Rory wind her way through the crowd and said, "It really was great of you to come, Luke. It meant a lot to her."

Luke nodded and pushed his hands into his pants pockets as he shrugged and said, "It was fun."

Lorelai smiled at him weakly and said, "So if I don't see you, have fun on your trip with Nicole."

Luke tipped his head back and watched her carefully as he said, "Oh, we may not go now."

"What?" Lorelai gasped. "You were really looking forward to it," she said in disbelief.

Luke shrugged and said, "I don't know if the timing's right, and things are kinda weird right now."

"Oh no," Lorelai whispered.

"What?" he asked.

Lorelai winced as she said, "It's because of me. Because I teased you about the commitment thing and proposing. I ruined it," she said sadly.

Luke shook his head and said quickly, "No, that's not it."

Lorelai looked at him, her eyes searching his as she said, "Please, promise me that's not it. It would break my heart."

Luke looked down at her and said cautiously, "But you weren't wrong about that. It got me thinking and it is kind of like committing to her."

"So?" Lorelai asked, her heart in her throat.

Luke shrugged and said, "I don't wanna lead her on."

"But you like her, Luke. You like her a lot, don't you?" Lorelai persisted.

Luke ducked his head, trying to control his temper as he said, "Yeah, Nicole's great, but…"

Lorelai shook her head and cut him off as she said, "Then go. No matter what she's reading into it."

Luke raised an eyebrow at her and asked incredulously, "Really? You think that's okay considering, I don't know, everything?"

Lorelai paused and chewed her bottom lip for a moment before she looked up at him and said, "Yeah, I do."

Taken aback, Luke blinked and muttered, "Oh, okay. I'll probably go then."

Lorelai nodded, dropping her eyes to the curled program clutched in her hand as she said, "Good."

Luke took a deep breath through his nose, trying to calm the rising anger swirling inside of him as he said casually, "I guess I was just nervous about nothing."

Lorelai looked away, scanning the crowd as she said, "That's what I think, too."

Luke pressed his lips together in a tight line as he fought back the urge to scream some sense into her. When she kept her head averted he flexed his jaw in frustration and then said, "I'll see ya in a couple months."

Lorelai nodded distractedly as she said, "Yeah, I'll see you then."

Without another word, Luke turned and melted into the crowd as he made his way through the gate and out to the parking lot. Lorelai stood on her tip toes, watching his broad shoulders as he walked away from her, and pressed her palm to her stomach, trying to suppress the fluttering butterflies that threatened to carry her off to chase after him and beg him not to go.

She turned away from the gate and searched the crowd for a familiar face. Her gaze landed on Headmaster Charleston, and she gave her head a little shake as she reminded herself to look for a friendly familiar face. She looked a little to her right, and spotted Sookie staring at her with such a sympathetic look that it made her heart clench. She waved and called, "I'm going to find Rory!" and then disappeared into the school.

XXXX

Luke was wiping down the tables in the diner that night when the bells chimed and Lorelai stepped inside. "Hey, Luke," she said, her pretty red dress swirling around her legs as she stopped just inside the door.

Luke looked up and said, "Lorelai, hi. Where's Rory?" he asked as he tilted his head to look behind her.

"Oh, out in the car," Lorelai answered as she jerked a thumb at the door.

"Oh," Luke said as she straightened up. "It was a really nice ceremony, wasn't it?" he asked, searching for something to say to make her stay, just so he could look at her for a little while longer.

"Yeah, it was beautiful," Lorelai answered succinctly.

Luke frowned at her abnormally brief answer and asked, "What's up?"

Lorelai took a small step closer to him as she said, "I just wanted to say something to you in case we don't see each other before you go on your trip."

Luke rested his knuckles on his hips, and tried to keep his eyes strictly above the neckline as he shrugged and asked, "Sure, what?"

Lorelai looked him boldly in the eye and said, "Don't get engaged."

Luke jerked his head back and blinked, clearly confused by her message, "What, why?" As she quickly turned and opened the door to leave, he called after her, "Lorelai?"

He awoke with a start, and then rubbed his hand tiredly over his face as he rested his elbows on his knees. Dropping his hands, he stared unseeingly down at his wrists as he let his hands dangle limply. "Enough," he said softly. He took a deep breath and then pressed the heels of his hands to his knees as he stood up. He pushed the rolled cuffs of his new dress shirt up over his elbows as he strode determinedly to the door and said, "I've had enough," as he let it slam behind him, the frosted glass rattling in its old wooden frame.


	10. So Wrapped Up In You

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of your comments and reviews. I am so happy that you enjoyed this story. Well, here's the final chapter. I tied it all up in a bow, just for you!**

**So Wrapped Up In You**

_**The day of Rory's graduation from Chilton**_

Luke ran up the porch steps, and began to pound on her door. When he got no response, he tried the handle, but for once, it was locked. For a moment, he considered which of the dozens of ways he knew of to break into her house he should use, but his thoughts were interrupted by Babette calling to him, "I think they're still at the thing, Doll." Luke turned in her direction, but said nothing, just raising his hand in acknowledgement. Babette smiled and waved, turning back toward her door, and then stopping as she called back to him, "Was it a nice ceremony?"

"Yeah," he called back in a slightly hoarse voice. "Very nice."

"Good, well, we'll see you at the party later," Babette said as she waved again and then closed the door behind her.

Mindless of the fact that he was still in his dress clothes Luke sank down onto the top step and buried his face in his hands. He could see her perfectly; her red dress swirling around her legs as she closed the diner door, her dark hair brushing her shoulders, her swell of her breasts as she tried to catch her breath long enough to say what she wanted to say.

_Don't get engaged._

He knew it was just a dream. He knew that she didn't actually say that, but he also knew that the dream had happened for a reason. That reason had been there bubbling under the surface for months now. He had tried to ignore it. He had tried to shove it down, lock it away and throw away the key, but once again, like a thousand times before, it was this close. This close to being all or nothing. This close to going for broke. This close to knowing once and for all if it was meant to be.

He heard the crunch of gravel under tires and looked up as the Jeep pulled to a stop in its usual spot. Lorelai opened the driver's door and smiled when she saw the hunched figure on her porch. "Hey, if we knew you were coming we'd have baked a cake," she called to him.

"Are you trying to poison him?" Rory asked as she closed the passenger door.

"Well, I would have had Sookie do the actual baking," Lorelai said as they crossed the yard. She looked at Luke with a concerned frown, taking in his disheveled clothes and the short hair that stuck up in little tufts where his hands had raked trough it. "Are you okay?" she asked as they reached the steps.

Luke stared at her for a moment and then said in a voice rough with urgency, "I need to talk to you."

Rory glanced uneasily between her mother and Luke and then stepped up onto the bottom step. "I'll just go get changed and ready for the party," she said in a nervous tone.

Luke stood up as she passed, brushing his sweaty palms over his suit pants as he cleared his throat and said, "You did great today, Rory."

Rory smiled and gave his arm and awkward pat as she passed. "Thanks, Luke. And thanks again for coming," she said as she hurried for the door. She tried the handle, and blinked in surprise when she found it locked.

Rory turned back to Lorelai with a questioning stare, but her mother simply shrugged and said, "Sometimes the mood strikes me," and tossed her keys to her.

Lorelai waited until Rory had closed the door behind her before she looked up at Luke and said, "What's going on?"

Luke stepped down one step and said, "You tell me."

Lorelai reared back a little at his terse tone and asked, "Uh, Rory graduated today? We're getting ready to leave for Europe?" She paused for a beat before adding, "Um, you're going to be boarding the Love Boat?" When he said nothing, but crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her intently, Lorelai began to fidget under his scrutiny. "Hey, be sure that you tell Isaac, and Julie and Doc 'hi' for me and tell them I miss seeing them every week. Charo does too, because she's had a whole boatload of nothin' to do since that show when off the air," she babbled.

"Lorelai," he said impatiently.

"What? You're the one who came by to play guessing games," she said defensively as she stepped onto the bottom step, avoiding his eyes.

"You've been playing guessing games with me for months now. Hell, years," he said, getting angry. "I think it's my turn," he said snidely.

"I don't know why you're mad at me," she said, looking up at him with a confused shake of her head.

"Don't you?" Luke asked as he stepped down another step, his eyes fixed on her. When she looked away, he said in a low voice, "You know damn well what I meant."

"What you meant about what?" Lorelai asked plaintively.

"Everything," he answered succinctly.

"Everything what?" Lorelai asked, her impatience rising to meet his.

"When I asked you about the cruise, and Nicole, and committing," he said gesturing with his hand.

"What about it?" she answered with a tinge of anger. "Do you need my permission?"

"I don't know, do I?" he asked bluntly. "Considering everything, Lorelai?"

"Everything what?" she cried out in frustration.

"You know what I meant!" he shouted, staring down at her. "Everything that has been going on, or not going on, or almost going on between us these last few months," he said angrily. "I'm not imagining it. It's not just all in my head, so don't try to Gaslight me," he warned as he pointed a finger at her. When Lorelai stared up at him with her mouth agape, but no sound coming from it, Luke shook his head and said firmly, "I have to know."

"Know what?" she whispered in a bewildered tone.

"I need you to tell me once and for all, considering everything," he said slowly. Luke took a deep breath, looking her straight in the eye as he asked, "Yes or no? Do you want me to go on this cruise with Nicole?"

"You don't need my okay, do what you want to do, Luke," Lorelai said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she tried brush past him to go into the house.

Luke reached out and caught her as she reached the porch. He held onto her arm, but Lorelai kept her face turned away from him. "Lorelai, what do you want me to do?" he asked, his voice cracking in frustration.

"What do you want me to say, Luke?" she cried in an exasperated tone. Finally, she turned to look at him, her eyes level with his as she said, "I just want you to be happy," with quiet desperation.

"I want you to say, 'no, don't go'," he said urgently as he stepped up onto the porch again. "I want you to say that you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you," he said in a gentler tone. "That's what would make me happy," he said with quiet conviction as he released her arm and reached up to trace the curve of her cheekbone.

Lorelai stared at him wide eyed as his fingertips trailed feather light strokes over her skin. "Luke," she said hesitantly.

"A week ago I told Nicole that I couldn't see her anymore," he said softly. "I can't see anyone but you, Lorelai," Luke said as he brushed his thumb gently over her lips. "Say this is what you want," he said in a low husky voice, his warm breath washing over her parted lips.

"This is what I want," she repeated in a dazed tone.

"Good," Luke said as he pressed his lips to hers, letting them slide gently over hers, slowly drinking her in as he gathered her close to him.

When he pulled back to gauge her reaction, Lorelai kept her eyes closed as she asked, "A week ago?"

"Yeah," Luke answered with a slight smile, knowing that she was about to let him have it.

Lorelai's eyes popped open as she glared at him, whispered, "Bastard," and then launched herself at him, rocking him back on his heels. He caught her tightly around her waist as she framed his face with her hands, holding him still as she kissed him passionately, letting all of the anger, frustration and confusion of the past months out as Luke parted his lips and let her take what she wanted. Her tongue tangled with his, battling for control as her hands slipped into his short hair, her nails raking over his scalp. She pulled away panting and said hoarsely, "Europe, I'm going to Europe in less than 48 hours."

"I know," he answered as he pressed his lips to the pulse throbbing beneath her jaw, walking her backwards until her back hit the side of the house just next to the front door. "Are you coming back?" he asked in a raspy voice just before he opened his mouth and drew on her skin gently.

"God, yes," she breathed as she stared up at the wisteria that bloomed bright purple and dripped from the eaves of the porch, filling the spring air with its sweet scent.

Luke raised his head and looked down at her until she met his gaze. "I'll be here," he told her as he ran his hand over her soft curls and then tucked one gently behind her ear.

Luke kissed her hard and hot, he parted her lips with his and pressed his body into hers as the tip of his tongue touched hers and the electricity arced between them again. Lorelai braced herself, the fingers of one hand digging into his shoulder as she wrapped the other hand around his bare forearm and held on. She moaned softly as he tore his mouth from hers and blazed a trail of hot wet kisses down the side of her neck, pausing to suck on her collarbone as Lorelai slid her hand up to squeeze his bicep. Luke's hands were frantic as they ran from the curve of her hips up into the dip of her waist and than skimmed the sides of her breasts. Lost in the moment, he pressed tiny kisses along the neckline of her dress, bending his knees as his lips danced over the soft swell of one breast, and then stopped, exhaling a ragged breath as he found that tantalizing hint of the valley between her breasts and dipped his tongue below the neckline of her dress.

Neither heard the front door open, but they both heard Rory's soft gasp. They broke apart instantly, their hearts pounding and their eyes wide as they turned and the three of them stared at each other, each of their faces flaming red. "Uh, sorry," Rory said as she stepped back and quickly closed the door.

"Oh my Gawd! That was hot! Kiss her again, Sugah!" Babette called from her porch as she fanned herself with her hand.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai gasped, a shocked laugh escaping her lips before she could clamp her hand over her mouth and then spotted Sookie and Jackson standing frozen in place next to their car, their mouths hanging open in shock.

"Oh God," Luke groaned as he ducked his head, but still did not relinquish his hold on Lorelai's waist.

Lorelai slowly lowered her hand and said, "Luke, I need to…"

"I know," he said, but still did not let her go.

"Luke?" she asked softly.

"If I let you go, you're not going to change your mind are you?" he asked hoarsely.

Lorelai laughed nervously as she saw Sookie and Jackson quickly turn away, Jackson pointing out something non-existent in a nearby tree for them to stare at with feigned interest. "Not likely to happen now," she told him.

Luke looked down at her and said with a smirk, "You have a tendency to insert your own reality when it suits you."

Lorelai smiled impishly and said, "You know me too well."

"Lorelai," Luke said impatiently.

Lorelai kissed him gently and said, "Go home, change into your party clothes and then come back."

Luke groaned and asked, "Come back? To the party?"

"We have less than 48 hours and you want to spend it tonight sitting alone in your apartment?" she asked.

Luke thought for a moment and then nodded as he said, "Back in twenty minutes."

"Gimme thirty, I need to talk to Rory," she said gently.

Luke frowned and said, "Do you want me to go in there with you?"

Lorelai smiled and said teasingly, "Nah, I know you're scared of her."

"I should," Luke said as he stepped back and gestured to the door.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "It'll be fine. If there's a problem, I'll call you, but I don't think there will be," she said as she slipped her hand down his arm and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I just jumped you on your front porch," Luke said gruffly.

Lorelai shrugged and said, "Well, it is dusk. You think no one noticed?" she asked with an overly optimistic tone.

"You mean other than your daughter, the peanut gallery and the two avid bird watchers in the yard?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, other than them," Lorelai answered with a grin.

"Nah, no one noticed," Luke said with a sheepish grin.

Lorelai beamed at him and said, "Thirty minutes, the clock is running, so you should be too."

Luke nodded as he backed toward the steps and said, "Back in twenty. I don't want you to have ten extra minutes to change your mind," he said as he hurried down the steps and took off past Sookie and Jackson, his eyes averted and his jaw set with determination.

XXXX

When Luke returned to the house carrying two full bags of ice, Rory had opened the door and smile shyly as she said, "Hi, Luke."

Luke gulped a nervous breath and said, "Hey, Rory," as she stepped back to let him come in.

"Your girlfriend is in the kitchen," she told him with a sly grin.

"Rory," Luke started to say, his brow creased with worry.

Rory simply shook her head as she smiled and nudged his arm until he turned toward the kitchen. "She's been timing you, you'd better cross the finish line," she warned as she gave him a gentle push in the right direction.

Luke stepped into the kitchen to find Lorelai muttering as she rooted around in the nearly empty freezer. "The ice maker must be broken," she groaned.

"You're here! You brought ice!" Sookie exclaimed as she spotted Luke and then gasped his arm as she bounced excitedly. "This is so great!" she enthused.

Lorelai glanced over her shoulder and saw him standing there with his bags of ice, and smiled slowly as she turned and said, "Beautiful!"

Luke rolled his eyes as he glanced down at the bags and said, "They won't be enough if the ice maker is out."

"I meant you, but you're probably right," Lorelai answered with a grin.

"I can go get more," Luke offered quickly.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Not so fast, Mister. You're not getting out of here that easy."

Luke glanced nervously over at Sookie's beaming grin and asked, "You think this is easy?"

Lorelai scoffed and said, "Babette isn't even here yet. Or Patty. I'm sure that she's heard by now," Lorelai added with a grin.

Luke grimaced and carried the ice over to where she stood in front of the open freezer door. "Let me just put these in here," he said as he jerked his head, signaling for her to move. When she stepped aside, he loaded the bags of ice onto the freezer shelf and asked, "How much more do you want?"

Lorelai smiled at him and murmured, "Loaded question."

"Ice," he hissed between his teeth, but his eyes warmed with amusement.

"What do you think four or five more bags?" Lorelai asked as she turned to see Sookie smiling at them with her head cocked and a dreamy expression on her face. "Sook?" Lorelai said in a louder voice.

"Yes, definitely more," Sookie said quickly as she snapped from her trance.

Lorelai turned back to Luke and said, "Do whatever you think is right."

"Sounds like a plan," he answered as he pecked a quick kiss to her lips and then hurried out the back door.

"Oh, Lorelai," Sookie said in a tear choked voice.

"No crying, Sook," Lorelai warned sternly.

"I'm just so damn happy," Sookie said with a watery smile.

Lorelai walked over and hugged her friend tightly. "Hell of a day, huh?" she asked.

"Great day," Sookie said adamantly.

"I'm gonna need you, Sook," Lorelai said as she pulled back and looked down at Sookie meaningfully. "I'm gonna be gone for almost two whole months," she said regretfully.

Grasping her meaning, Sookie shook her head and said, "I'm pretty sure that you don't have to worry. You can trust me, though, if that red headed stick person comes sniffing around, I'll snap her like a bean," she promised.

"And boil her?" Lorelai asked.

Sookie winced and said, "You don't boil beans, it sucks the flavor out of them. You cook them slowly over low heat with a little bacon fat or salt pork," Sookie began to explain.

"Sook!" Lorelai said impatiently.

"I'll boil her. In oil," she added with a gleam in her eye. "And not extra virgin olive oil, cheap off brand vegetable oil," Sookie promised.

Lorelai smiled and said, "I'm so glad that you're on my side."

Sookie snorted and said, "Good thing Jackson did take my knives away, huh?"

XXXX

Luke pushed the sleeve of his navy blue sweater up over his elbow, a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers as he leaned back against the archway that led to the kitchen and watched the festivities. He smiled as Lorelai shoved the microphone that came with the portable karaoke machine into Rory's hands and said dramatically, "Sing for Mommy. Make Mommy proud!"

Rory tried to refuse, but soon the other guests were shouting their encouragement as Lorelai inserted one of the discs and pressed the buttons, trying to get to the exact tune she was looking for. Pink cheeked, Rory finally nodded her acquiescence, and Luke felt a pang of empathy as he knew that starting something with Lorelai Gilmore meant that there would be many moments like the one Rory was currently experiencing in his future. As the opening bars of 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' filled the room, Rory and Lane groaned loudly and Lorelai began to dance, flinging her arms above her head as she threw her head back and cackled an evil laugh. Luke lowered his head and chuckled as he shook his head at her antics, but soon his eyes were drawn back to her. By the end of the song, Sookie had stood up and was dancing along with Lorelai while Jackson sat on the arm of the couch repeatedly cautioning Sookie not to 'jiggle baby' and then gave up, throwing his arms in the air as they shouted 'They just wanna, just wan-naaaa,' along with Rory and Lane. As the song ended everyone cheered, and caught up in the radiant smile on Lorelai's face, Luke raised his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. When Taylor and Kirk's heads swiveled in his direction, Luke scowled at them forbiddingly until they turned their attention quickly back to the karaoke machine and Patty stood up to take the mike.

Lorelai sauntered over to Luke and smiled up at him as she took the bottle of beer from his fingers, lifted it to her lips and took a long drink, her eyes locked on his. She lowered the bottle and offered it back to him with a sweet smile as she said, "Drawing a little attention to yourself there. Careful or they revoke your wallflower status," she teased.

Luke watch as she plucked at the front of her shirt, trying to get a little air circulating, and licked his lips before saying, "I have a feeling its gonna get yanked out from under me anyway."

Lorelai gave him a guileless smile and asked, "Yank what?"

"Stop," he admonished as he tried not to stare at her mouth and failed.

Lorelai surreptitiously took his hand and said, "Come with me," as she headed for the kitchen door.

Luke followed willingly, breathing a sigh of relief as they stepped out into the cool spring night. Thinking that she wanted to sit on the steps, he paused on the second one, and Lorelai almost pulled him down the rest in her haste. "Where are you going?" Luke asked as he hurried to catch up to her.

"Over here," Lorelai said as she nodded to the detached garage.

As she pulled one of the doors open, Luke frowned and then let go of her hand to help her with it. "What? Do you need me to check your oil or something?" he asked as she walked into the darkened garage.

"Yes, please," Lorelai said in a throaty voice as she gave a bawdy laugh.

"You've been living next to Babette for too long," Luke muttered as he felt for the light switch and then flipped it on. When the bulb lit up, he saw that the space had been cleaned out, and the only thing actually in the garage was a drum set in the center of the floor. Luke pointed to it and asked, "For when you're channeling John Bonham?"

"For when Lane is channeling Keith Moon," Lorelai replied with a smirk.

Luke looked around at the few containers stacked neatly along the sides of the garage and muttered, "Let's hope neither, since they are both dead."

Lorelai grinned at him and said, "That's what I love about you, that party-party-party attitude of yours."

Luke shrugged and said, "I'm just sayin'."

Lorelai held out one hand to beckon him, and when she felt his fingers tighten around hers, she smiled and turned out the light. "Stop sayin'' and start kissin'," she whispered as she leaned into him.

Luke stared down at her, trying to force his eyes to adjust to the dim light that shone through the open door and asked, "Here? Now?"

"Here," Lorelai said as she raised her hand and tugged gently at the front of his sweater. "Now," she murmured as he lowered his lips to hers.

Luke kissed her sweetly. The frustration and desperation that fueled their earlier kisses was replaced by tenderness, longing and a touch of wonder as his lips moved over hers. When they parted, Luke ran a hand over her hair and stared at her as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. When he opened his mouth and Lorelai looked up at him expectantly, all he could manage was, "Leave me your car keys. I'll start it to make sure that the battery doesn't die."

Lorelai smiled, knowing exactly what he was saying, and answered, "Okay."

"Where's Rory's new car?" he asked.

"My parents are storing it at their house," she answered, her smile widening slightly at his unique way of telling her that he wanted to take care of Rory too.

Luke nodded and captured her lips again, this time taking the kiss a little deeper, pulling her a little closer as his hands traced the curve of her spine. Lorelai angled her head, parting her lips and running the tip of her tongue over his in a lazy dance that drove him wild. Luke groaned as he pressed her to him, molding her soft curves to his as they had that night in the diner. "Lorelai," he said raggedly as they came up for air, and he found his hand on her bottom.

"I'm sending you lots of postcards," she said as she ran her fingers from his temple to his jaw, feeling the stubble that had begin to bristle on his cheek.

Luke swallowed thickly, and quickly raised his hand to safer territory. "Call," he said gruffly. "Collect if you have to."

"I have a calling card," she assured him as she reached behind her and moved his hand back down again. "I'll bring presents," she said teasingly.

"All I want is you," he answered with a slight shake of his head.

"I can't believe I have to leave," she said softly.

"Can I take you guys to the airport?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded and leaned into kiss him again, cradling the back of his neck as she kissed him hungrily, and then running her hands over his broad shoulders and down onto his chest as he squeezed her ass gently urging her closer to him desperately. Lorelai let her head fall back as he plundered his neck and throat. "Breakfast," she whispered to the darkened ceiling.

"What?" Luke asked, his voice muffled against her skin as he slid one hand boldly over her ribcage and up to capture her breast.

"Oh God, breakfast," she moaned as she arched into his palm.

Luke lifted his head slightly and asked, "You're hungry? Now?"

Lorelai began to claw the hem of his sweater, lifting it clumsily in her haste to get to his skin. "No, coming for breakfast tomorrow," she panted as she angled her head and urged his lips back to her neck. "Oh yes, I'll be coming," she said with a breathy laugh as his tongue danced over her skin. Lorelai moaned again as Luke ran his thumb over her nipple and then pinched it gently through her shirt. "I'll send Rory out to do errands after we eat," she rasped as she smoothed her hand over the hard muscles of his back.

"Okay," Luke said, not quite grasping her meaning, but not caring as he gently bit her ear lobe and then drew it into his mouth.

"Your apartment," she groaned as she pressed into him, undulating wantonly against his hard length. With a grunt of frustration, she pulled her hands from his back and quickly began to unbuckle his belt.

Luke reared back, his eyes wide as he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Can't wait for tomorrow," she mumbled as she unbuttoned his jeans and fumbled for the tab of his zipper.

"Lorelai," he hissed. "Tomorrow?" he asked in a confused tone as he reached for her wrist to stop her.

Lorelai resisted, dragging his zipper down a couple of inches before he stopped her and she looked up with a perplexed frown. "I want you. Don't you want me?" she asked, the vulnerability seeping into her voice in direct opposition to the defiant tilt of her chin.

Luke exhaled loudly, trying not to laugh as he said, "Oh, you have no idea, but…"

"No buts. I'm leaving in less than two days and I won't be back for almost two months!" she cried.

"And we've waited years," Luke countered. He frowned as he searched her eyes and asked, "Is that what you meant by tomorrow?"

"What did you think I meant?" Lorelai asked in an injured tone.

Luke shook his head quickly and said, "I don't know. Hanging out, making out," he said with a shrug.

"We're not teenagers. I vote for making love," she said with a decisive nod.

Luke stared at her, his mind racing as he weighed what she was offering him. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Make it a long list of errands."

Lorelai grinned as she ran her fingertips along the hard ridge covered in denim and said, "Oh, don't worry. I'm blocking out hours," she assured him.

"Stop that," he grumbled.

"I don't have any intention of ever not driving you crazy," she said with a smile. "Fair warning."

"That made no sense," he answered as he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. "And that's just fine with me," he told her. He stilled her hand and whispered, "We should get back."

"Just a few minutes more," she said as she buried her face in his neck, kissing, licking and biting him greedily.

Luke didn't protest, instead, he slipped his hand under her shirt and splayed his fingers over the silky skin of her back. Lorelai immediately began to stroke him through his jeans again as she sucked on his neck. A moment later, she felt the clasp of her bra give way, and lifted her head questioningly. Luke smirked a little and said, "Oops," as he ran his hands around to her stomach and then up under her bra to cup her breasts.

Lorelai smiled, her eyes heavy with desire as she looked up at him and reached for his zipper once more. She pulled it down and ran her finger teasingly under the elastic of his boxer briefs as she said, "Oh! Pardon me," with a smug smile.

Luke raised an eyebrow and pulled away from her tempting hands as he pushed her shirt and bra up roughly up over her head. He looked down at her upturned breasts and groaned as he lowered his mouth to capture one dusky nipple with his lips. He caressed her, his hands rough against her soft skin as each pull of his mouth grew more demanding. "Now," he muttered as he released her nipple and slid down onto his knees, his fingers frantically working the button and zipper on her jeans.

He opened them and hooked his fingers into the waistband to tug them down when they heard Sookie call in a tentative voice, "Lorelai? Luke? Where are you guys?"

They froze, both of their heads turning to the open garage door, and then Luke scrambled frantically for Lorelai's shirt as she tugged her jeans up and zipped and buttoned them. "This is ridiculous," Luke muttered as he handed her the shirt and then quickly zipped his jeans, tugging his sweater down, trying in vain to cover his unbuckled belt.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai hissed as she pulled her shirt on, her bra dangling from her fingers as she shoved her hand through the sleeve.

Sookie heard shuffling sounds coming from the garage and froze. She wrung her hands as she bit her lip for a second and then called softly, "People are starting to notice that you're not in there."

"We'll be right there," Lorelai called back.

"I'll tell them that you went for a walk," Sookie said as she turned back toward the house and hurried to head off anyone else who may have decided to go looking for them.

Luke exhaled as he closed his eyes and then looked down as he buttoned his jeans and began to buckle his belt. "I'm sorry, I got a little carried away," he apologized gruffly.

"We both did," Lorelai said as she held her bra out for him to hold for a moment.

Luke's eyes widened as he realized that she wanted him to hold it, and then took it reluctantly, keeping a wary eye on her as she slid her arms back out of the sleeves of her shirt, but left it bunched around her neck. As Lorelai took the bra back from him and began to fasten it, Luke struggled to keep from his eyes averted. He cleared his throat and said, "I should probably go."

"Luke, no," she said sadly.

He smiled at her in the dim light and said, "I hate to, uh, and run," as he gestured to her as she straightened her clothes. "It's Rory's night, and I kind of feel like I'm messing that up," he said with a shrug.

"You're not," she insisted as she pressed her palms to his chest.

Luke lifted one of her hands and brought it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles before his said, "I have deliveries in the morning, but I'll see you at breakfast."

Lorelai eyed him carefully, wondering if this was his typical evasive maneuver. She frowned slightly as she murmured, "Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this."

"What?" he asked with a perplexed shake of his head.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be a big thing, right? You're single, I'm single, we find each other attractive," she said, her voice a degree cooler than it was a moment before. "We can just, you know, uh, enjoy each other, no strings attached," she said with a shrug.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"It doesn't have to be a whole big commitment thing," she assured him quickly.

"Oh yes it does," he shot back, his voice rising.

Now it was her turn to be confused. "What?" she asked.

"Yes, it does, Lorelai," he insisted.

"It does?" she repeated.

Luke paused and looked at her carefully as his brow furrowed. "Let me be perfectly clear," he said slowly. "I don't just want to sleep with you, contrary to all of the evidence presented tonight," he told her sternly. "I mean, I want to sleep with you. Very badly. Well I don't mean badly. Good. Very good. I want it very much," he said, growing impatient even with himself. He grunted in frustration and ran his hand through his hair as he tried to find the right words, and fervently hoped that for once in his life, they would just come out. "I want to be your, uh, boyfriend, for lack of a better word," he told her. "Pick a word any word, I wanna be that," he said as he pointed to the ground emphatically. "Friend, lover, companion, mate, or whatever," he rattled off with a definite nod. "Pick one or all, that's me, that's what I want," she said as he pressed his fingertips to his chest. "I don't want 'no strings attached', I want every string you have, Lorelai," he told her bluntly. When she stared at him, speechless, he said, "And you can have my strings to jerk around just as much as you want, that's fine," he said, a note of apprehension creeping into his voice as he looked at her cautiously.

"Lobster," Lorelai murmured.

"What?" Luke asked uncomprehendingly.

Lorelai blinked slowly as she looked him in the eye and said, "I want you to be my lobster."

Luke reared back a little and tucked his chin to his chest as he said, "O-kay." He blinked rapidly as he tried to figure out what she could possibly mean, but came up empty. He narrowed his eyes and asked in a tone filled with cautious disbelief, "Are you saying that you want me to pinch you?"

Lorelai burst out laughing and hugged him tightly as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "No, I'm not that kinky," she managed to say between giggles.

Luke smiled his relief and said, "Good, 'cause that was kind of weird."

"It's just this thing from a show. _Friends,_" she told him and felt his whole body tense and stiffen. "The show is called _Friends_, not that I want to just be friends," she said quickly as she pulled back to look at him. "Man, we suck at this," she said with a rueful laugh as she felt him exhale with relief.

"We'll get better," he said confidently as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Luke leaned down and kissed her gently, drawing her lips against his slowly, and letting them linger for a moment even after the kiss ended.

"Man, you're good at that," she whispered.

"I was thinking the same thing about you," Luke said gruffly.

"We should get out of here before we get going again," Lorelai said with a wince.

"Yeah," Luke agreed as he laced his fingers through hers and they walked to the garage door. "I'll see you guys at breakfast?" he asked.

"Definitely," she answered with a nod. Lorelai glanced back and sent him a sidelong smile as she said, "Would have been a great 'our first time' story."

Luke snorted and asked, "To tell the grandkids?"

Lorelai's smile grew as she gave him a shy glance out of the corner of her eye and said, "Maybe."

XXXX

Lorelai rolled over the sheet he had pulled up over them slipping down past her waist as she propped her forearm on his bare chest and flipped her hair back out of her eyes with a saucy toss of her head. She smiled and said smugly, "I know what I'm bringing you back from Europe."

Luke stroked her arm gently and asked, "You?"

"Me and a matador's costume," she said with a broad smile.

"You in a matador's costume?" Luke replied innocently.

Lorelai shook her head with a knowing smile and aid, "Oh no. You in a matador's costume."

"Ain't gonna happen," Luke said with a laugh.

Without thinking, Lorelai reached up and traced the crinkly corners of his eyes with her fingernail. "Is to," she countered with a gleam in her eye.

"Ya think?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Lorelai nodded and said, "You'll look so hot in that cape thing."

Luke smirked and brushed her hair back over her shoulder as he said, "Didn't do too badly without it."

Lorelai smiled and said, "Not bad at all," as she pressed soft kisses to his chest.

"How much time do we have?" he asked reluctantly.

Lorelai glanced over at the ancient alarm clock on his nightstand and said, "Not much. Rory balked at doing all of Mommy's errands so that she could get lucky."

"Lorelai," Luke chastised with a grimace.

She smiled as she rubbed her nose against the fine hair on his chest and said, "Sorry, not really." She sighed as she pressed her cheek to him, listening to he beat of his heart as she said, "I should get going soon."

"I'm going to miss you," he said quietly.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Not yet. It's too soon." When he frowned, she shrugged and said, "You still have to help us pack our backpacks, and then we'll have dinner, and then you're taking us to the airport. Not time for that yet," she said simply.

"Okay," he answered as he kissed the top of her head. "How soon is soon?" he asked.

"Soon-ish," she said with a slow smile.

"I can make it quick," he said in a low voice.

Lorelai grinned as she turned to look at him and said, "Good thing, because I'm easy." She rolled over onto him and pressed up, straddling his hips as she ran her hands slowly down the center of his chest, and then flattened them as she let them glide back over him. "I'm thinking black, with blue and silver sequins," she murmured.

"I'm thinking you're nuts," he answered as he ran his hands over her bare bottom, pressing his arousal against her damp folds.

"Big broad shoulders in that short jacket," she said as she ground down on him slightly. "Crisp white linen shirt," she murmured as she leaned forward and nipped at his throat.

"I don't care how beautiful you look right now, I am not wearing that," he said gruffly, as he slid his hands up to cup her breasts.

Lorelai smiled, watching him carefully, as she rocked back slightly, teasingly rubbing herself along the tip of him as she whispered, "Tight black pants to show off that fabulous ass of yours." Luke smiled, his breath coming a little faster, and shook his head. Lorelai smiled as she pushed back, positioning him at her entrance as she said, "Oh you'll wear it." She sat back, lowering herself onto his shaft slowly as she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, savoring the feel of him filling her. When he was fully sheathed in her, Lorelai opened her eyes and found him staring up at her with a blissful expression. She laced her fingers through his and brought their joined hands to rest on her thighs. Lorelai locked eyes with Luke as she began to move slowly, and smiled brilliantly as she murmured, "I'll pull a few strings."


End file.
